Is Trader Joe's Sweet Potato Fries ultra-processed?

15 oz Frozen potato fries 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:

Colour
E1400 Dextrin
E160c Paprika extract
E450 Diphosphates

11 ingredients
6 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed frozen potato fries

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

sweet potato, soybean oil (processing marker), potato starch (processing marker), rice flour, cornstarch (processing marker), potato dextrin (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker), sodium acid pyrophosphate (ultra-processing marker), sodium bicarbonate, paprika oleoresin (ultra-processing marker) (color (ultra-processing marker))

Additives: E1400 Dextrin , E160c Paprika extract , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

SWEET POTATO, SOYBEAN OIL, POTATO STARCH, RICE FLOUR, CORNSTARCH, POTATO DEXTRIN, SALT, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, SODIUM BICARBONATE, PAPRIKA OLEORESIN (COLOR)

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.

E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.

3 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.

Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 32 frozen potato fries

From least to most processed, this one ranks 23rd. 81% of the frozen potato fries 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 32 frozen potato fries, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00921572, last edited 10 September 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 C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.