Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Small Curd Low Fat Cottage Cheese ultra-processed?

32 oz Fresh cheeses Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Small Curd Low Fat Cottage Cheese

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:

  • 9 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed fresh cheeses

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

pasteurized nonfat milk, milk, cream, salt, nonfat milk, locust bean gum, agar, vitamin a palmitate, carbon dioxide

Additives: E290 Carbon dioxide , E406 Agar , E410 Locust bean gum

As written on the pack

cultured pasteurized nonfat milk, pasteurized milk, pasteurized cream, salt, stabilizer (nonfat milk, locust bean gum, agar), vitamin a palmitate, carbon dioxide

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.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 91 fresh cheeses

From least to most processed, this one ranks 77th. 37% of the fresh cheeses 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 91 fresh cheeses, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00365741, last edited 10 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.