Is Trader Joe's Ultra Chocolate Ice Cream ultra-processed?

1 quart (946mL) Chocolate ice cream tubs 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:

E410 Locust bean gum
E412 Guar gum

8 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed ice cream tubs

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

cream, milk, cane sugar (processing marker), egg yolks, cocoa processed with alkali, guar gum (ultra-processing marker), carob bean gum (ultra-processing marker), vanilla extract

Additives: E410 Locust bean gum , E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

cream, milk, cane sugar, egg yolks, cocoa processed with alkali, guar gum, carob bean gum, vanilla extract

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.

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.

2 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.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 13 chocolate ice cream tubs

From least to most processed, this one ranks 3rd. 92% of the chocolate ice cream tubs 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 chocolate ice cream tubs, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00785723, last edited 12 February 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.