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Is Trader Joe's this apple walks into a bar... Cereal Bars ultra-processed?

7.8 oz (222 g) Apple cereal bars Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's this apple walks into a bar... Cereal Bars

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:

  • 39 ingredients
  • 10 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed apple cereal bars

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

apple filling (cane sugar, apples, fruit juice concentrates (pineapple, pear, apple, peach), tapioca starch, glycerin, natural flavor, citric acid, pectin, cinnamon, locust bean gum, annatto (color)), wheat flour, invert cane syrup, canola oil, cane sugar, wheat bran, oat flour, oats, CONTAINS 2% and LESS WHEAT GLUTEN, honey, non-fat dry milk, baking soda, cream of tartar, sea salt, natural flavors, vitamin b blend (niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamine hydrochloride, folic acid, cyanocobalamin), soy lecithin

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E336 Potassium tartrates , E336i Monopotassium tartrate , E410 Locust bean gum , E422 Glycerol , E440 Pectins , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

APPLE FILLING (ORGANIC CANE SUGAR, DEHYDRATED APPLES, FRUIT JUICE CONCENTRATES (PINEAPPLE, PEAR, APPLE, PEACH), TAPIOCA STARCH, GLYCERIN, NATURAL FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID, PECTIN, CINNAMON, LOCUST BEAN GUM, ANNATTO EXTRACT [COLOR]). ORGANIC WHEAT FLOUR, ORGANIC INVERT CANE SYRUP, ORGANIC EXPELLER PRESSED CANOLA OIL, ORGANIC CANE SUGAR, ORGANIC WHEAT BRAN, ORGANIC OAT FLOUR, ORGANIC OATS, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF ORGANIC WHEAT GLUTEN, ORGANIC HONEY, ORGANIC NON-FAT DRY MILK, BAKING SODA, CREAM OF TARTAR, SEA SALT, NATURAL FLAVORS, VITAMIN B BLEND (NIACINAMIDE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, RIBOFLAVIN, THIAMINE HYDROCHLORIDE, FOLIC ACID, CYANOCOBALAMIN), ORGANIC SOY LECITHIN. CONTAINS MILK, SOY, 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.

  • 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.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.

  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • Fruit juice concentrate An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
6 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.

  • Honey Honey, used as a sweetener.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 13 apple cereal bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 10th. 69% of the apple cereal bars 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 13 apple cereal bars, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00504652, last edited 6 September 2025), 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.