Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches ultra-processed?

4 x 5 fl oz sandwiches Ice creams Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches

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:

  • 45 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed ice creams

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

Ice Cream (Milk, Cream, Sugar, Whey, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Guar Gum, Locust Bean Gum, Soy Lecithin (emulsifier)), Chocolate Chunk Cookie (Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Brown Sugar, Chocolate Chunks (Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla, Salt), Palm Oil, Sugar, Eggs, Butter (Cream, Salt), Invert Sugar, Water, Vanilla, Whey Protein, Leavening, Salt), Chocolate Drops (Semisweet Chocolate (Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Dextrose), Soy Lecithin)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E410 Locust bean gum , E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

Ice Cream (Milk, Cream, Sugar, Whey, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Guar Gum, Locust Bean Gum, Soy Lecithin [emulsifier]), Chocolate Chunk Cookie (Enriched Flour [Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Brown Sugar, Chocolate Chunks [Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla, Salt], Palm Oil, Sugar, Eggs, Butter [Cream, Salt], Invert Sugar, Water, Vanilla, Whey Protein Concentrate, Leavening, Salt), Chocolate Drops (Semisweet Chocolate [Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Dextrose], Soy Lecithin)

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.

  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • 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.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • 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.
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.

  • Ice creams Products in the category "Ice creams" 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 321 ice creams

From least to most processed, this one ranks 224th. 93% of the ice creams 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 321 ice creams, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00909877, last edited 28 May 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.