Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Spanakopita ultra-processed?

2 oz Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Spanakopita

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:

  • 61 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

filling, spinach, feta cheese (milk, cream, milk protein concentrate, salt, microbial enzyme, lactic acid, calcium chloride, cheese culture, powdered cellulose, anti-caking), onion, ricotta cheese (whey, milk, cheese culture, salt, citric acid), cream cheese (milk, cream, nonfat milk, salt, guar gum, xanthan gum, carob bean gum, cheese culture), canola oil, corn starch, modified corn starch, salt, cellulose, lactic acid (lactic acid, calcium lactate), EGG, dill weed, black pepper, phyllo pastry, flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, canola oil, food starch (corn starch, tricalcium phosphate), unsalted butter (cream, milk), dextrose, vital wheat gluten, salt, yeast, natural flavor

Additives: E270 Lactic acid , E330 Citric acid , E410 Locust bean gum , E412 Guar gum , E415 Xanthan gum , E460 Cellulose , E460ii Powdered cellulose

As written on the pack

FILLING (SPINACH, FETA CHEESE [PASTEURIZED MILK, CREAM, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SALT, MICROBIAL ENZYME, LACTIC ACID, CALCIUM CHLORIDE, CHEESE CULTURE, POWDERED CELLULOSE (ANTI-CAKING}], ONION, RICOTTA CHEESE [WHEY, MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, CITRIC ACID], CREAM CHEESE [MILK, CREAM, NONFAT MILK, SALT, GUAR GUM, XANTHAN GUM, CAROB BEAN GUM, CHEESE CULTURE], CANOLA OIL, CORN STARCH, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, SALT, MODIFIED CELLULOSE, LACTIC ACID POWDER [LACTIC ACID, CALCIUM LACTATE], EGG, DILL WEED, BLACK PEPPER), PHYLLO PASTRY (UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID], WATER, CANOLA OIL, FOOD STARCH [CORN STARCH, TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE], UNSALTED BUTTER [CREAM (MILK}], DEXTROSE, VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN, SALT, YEAST, NATURAL FLAVOR. CONTAINS MILK, EGG, WHEAT.

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.

  • E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E460 Cellulose 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.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • 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.

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.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
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.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00380287, last edited 8 January 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.