Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Mac & Cheese reduced fat ultra-processed?

7 oz Instant pasta with cheese Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Mac & Cheese reduced fat

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed instant pasta with cheese

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

cooked elbow macaroni (water, semolina (durum wheat semolina, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid)), non fat milk, cheddar cheese (cow's milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes, annatto (color)), flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), salt, modified rice starch, pepper

Additives: E160b Annatto

As written on the pack

COOKED ELBOW MACARONI (WATER, ENRICHED SEMOLINA [DURUM WHEAT SEMOLINA, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID]), NON FAT MILK, CHEDDAR CHEESE (PASTEURIZED COW'S MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES, ANNATTO [COLOR]), ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SALT, MODIFIED RICE STARCH, PEPPER.

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.
4 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 9 instant pasta with cheese

From least to most processed, this one ranks 4th. 78% of the instant pasta with cheese here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 9 instant pasta with cheese, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00951418, last edited 3 June 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.