Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Ube Tea Cookies Purple Yam Shortbread Cookies ultra-processed?

10 oz Shortbread Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Ube Tea Cookies Purple Yam Shortbread Cookies

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:

  • 25 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed shortbread

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

powdered sugar (cane sugar, cornstarch), flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), butter (sweet cream, milk), salt, ube powder (dried purple yam), water, cinnamon, natural flavors, sweet potato (sweet potato, maltodextrin, sunflower lecithin (emulsifier)), salt

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

POWDERED SUGAR (CANE SUGAR, CORNSTARCH), UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), BUTTER (SWEET CREAM [MILK), SALT), UBE POWDER (DRIED PURPLE YAM), WATER, CINNAMON, NATURAL FLAVORS, SWEET POTATO FLOUR (SWEET POTATO FLOUR, MALTODEXTRIN, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN [EMULSIFIER]), SALT.

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.
  • 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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 64 shortbread

From least to most processed, this one ranks 59th. 33% of the shortbread 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 64 shortbread, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00710404, last edited 8 October 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.