Is Trader Joe's Organic Pastilles Peppermints ultra-processed?

Candies Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
E413 Tragacanth
E414 Acacia gum

8 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed candies

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

cane sugar (processing marker), water, tapioca syrup, natural flavorings (ultra-processing marker), maple syrup (processing marker), peppermint leaves, gum arabic (ultra-processing marker), gum tragacanth

Additives: E413 Tragacanth , E414 Acacia gum

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E413 Tragacanth.

As written on the pack

organic cane sugar, water, organic tapioca syrup, natural flavorings, organic maple syrup, organic peppermint leaves, organic gum arabic, gum tragacanth

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.

E413 Tragacanth Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
E414 Acacia gum Gum arabic (acacia gum) is the hardened sap of acacia trees, used to stabilise flavour emulsions in soft drinks and to coat sweets.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

Candies Products in the category "Candies" are at least group 3.
Maple syrup An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 486 candies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 64th. 96% of the candies 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 486 candies, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00942423, last edited 28 August 2025), 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 E (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.