Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken ultra-processed?

22 oz Chickens Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken

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:

  • 37 ingredients
  • No additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed chickens

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

Battered Dark Chicken Meat (Dark Chicken Meat, Water, Cornstarch, Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Egg, Soybean Oil, Salt, White Pepper, Garlic, Green Onion, Ginger), Sauce (Sugar, Distilled White Vinegar, Water, Soy Sauce (Water, Soybean, Salt, Wheat Flour, Sugar, Mushroom Extract), Modified Food Starch, Garlic, Green Onion, Ginger, Red Chili Pepper, Orange Peel, Mandarin Orange Peel)

As written on the pack

Battered Dark Chicken Meat (Dark Chicken Meat, Water, Cornstarch, Unbleached Enriched Flour [Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Egg, Soybean Oil, Salt, White Pepper, Garlic, Green Onion, Ginger), Sauce (Sugar, Distilled White Vinegar, Water, Soy Sauce [Water, Soybean, Salt, Wheat Flour, Sugar, Mushroom Extract], Modified Food Starch, Garlic, Green Onion, Ginger, Red Chili Pepper, Orange Peel, Mandarin Orange Peel)

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.

  • 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.
5 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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 356 chickens

From least to most processed, this one ranks 115th. 74% of the chickens 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 356 chickens, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00665636, last edited 1 October 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.