Is Trader Joe's Organic Lowfat Cottage Cheese ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 20 ingredients
- 5 additives
- Nutri-Score B
Less processed cheeses
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
nonfat milk, milk, cream, salt (processing marker), tricalcium phosphate, citric acid, locust bean gum (ultra-processing marker), agar (ultra-processing marker), carrageenan (ultra-processing marker), carbon dioxide (ultra-processing marker), active cultures (lactobacillus bulgaricus, streptococcus thermophilus, lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacterium lactis, lactococcus cremoris, lactococcus lactis, streptococcus thermophilus), vitamin a palmitate, microbial enzyme
Additives: E290 Carbon dioxide , E330 Citric acid , E406 Agar , E407 Carrageenan , E410 Locust bean gum
As written on the pack
organic nonfat milk, organic milk, organic cream, salt, tricalcium phosphate, citric acid, locust bean gum, agar, carrageenan, carbon dioxide, active cultures (lactobacillus bulgaricus, streptococcus thermophilus, lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacterium lactis, lactococcus cremoris, lactococcus lactis, streptococcus thermophilus), vitamin a palmitate, microbial enzyme
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.
- E290 Carbon dioxide Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
- E406 Agar A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
- E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is a thickener and gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used widely in dairy desserts, plant-based drinks and processed meats.
- E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
2 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.
- Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.
- Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Among 1,224 cheeses
From least to most processed, this one ranks 1110th. 38% of the cheeses here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00367998, last edited 31 March 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.