Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Spinach Tortellini ultra-processed?

10 oz Tortellini Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Spinach Tortellini

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:

  • 60 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed tortellini

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

filling (spinach), ricotta, cheese (whey, vinegar, salt), mozzarella, cheese (pasteurized skim milk, cheese, culture, salt, enzymes), breadcrumbs (wheat flour, sugar, yeast, salt), parmesan, cheese (pasteurized skim milk, cheese, culture, salt, enzymes), crackermeal (wheat flour), parmesan flavor (parmesan, cheese (granular cheese, parmesan cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), water, salt, natural flavor, citric acid), sea salt, canola oil, yeast extract, butter, sweet cream, sugar, water, onion, garlic, powder, natural flavor), canola oil, black pepper, sea salt, pasta (wheat flour), water, eggs, beta-carotene

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160ai Beta-carotene , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

FILLING: SPINACH, RICOTTA, CHEESE (WHEY, VINEGAR, SALT), MOZZARELLA, CHEESE (PASTEURIZED SKIM MILK, CHEESE, CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), BREADCRUMBS, (WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, YEAST, SALT), PARMESAN, CHEESE (PASTEURIZED SKIM MILK, CHEESE, CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), CRACKERMEAL, (WHEAT FLOUR), PARMESAN FLAVOR (PARMESAN, CHEESE [GRANULAR CHEESE & PARMESAN CHEESE, (PASTEURIZED MILK, CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES),, WATER, SALT, NATURAL FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID],, SEA SALT, CANOLA OIL, YEAST EXTRACT, ORGANIC, BUTTER, SWEET CREAM, SUGAR, WATER,, ORGANIC ONION POWDER, ORGANIC GARLIC, POWDER, NATURAL FLAVOR), CANOLA OIL,, BLACK PEPPER, SEA SALT. PASTA: WHEAT FLOUR,, WATER, EGGS, BETA-CAROTENE.

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

  • 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 21 tortellini

From least to most processed, this one ranks 18th. 86% of the tortellini 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 21 tortellini, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00952316, last edited 18 June 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 A (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.