Is Trader Joe's party size mini Meatballs ultra-processed?

20 oz Meat balls 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:

Dextrose
Glucose
Soya flour

19 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed meat balls

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

Beef, Pork, Water, Bread Crumbs (Wheat Flour, Salt (processing marker), Ammonium Bicarbonate (Leavening agent)), Soy Flour (ultra-processing marker), Seasoning (Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Dehydrated Onion, Dextrose (ultra-processing marker), Spices (including Nutmeg, Allspice), Garlic Powder), Soy Protein, Salt (processing marker)

Additives: E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Beef, Pork, Water, Bread Crumbs (Wheat Flour, Salt, Ammonium Bicarbonate [Leavening agent]), Textured Soy Flour, Seasoning (Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Dehydrated Onion, Dextrose, Spices [including Nutmeg and/or Allspice], Garlic Powder), Soy Protein Concentrate, Salt. CONTAINS WHEAT, SOY.

What makes it ultra-processed

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
Soya flour An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.

1 ingredient 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 47 meat balls

From least to most processed, this one ranks 39th. 74% of the meat balls 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 47 meat balls, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00772624, last edited 12 August 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 D (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.