Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tyson Crispy Chicken Fries ultra-processed?

26.5 oz Cooked chicken Sold in the United States

Pack of Tyson Crispy Chicken Fries

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:

  • 32 ingredients
  • 11 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed cooked chicken

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

White meat chicken, water, wheat flour, wheat flour, yellow corn flour, modified food starch, annatto, dextrose, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, dried garlic, dried onion, yeast, hydrolyzed corn gluten, leavening (sodium aluminum phosphate, sodium bicarbonate), leavening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), oat fiber, paprika extract (color), salt, sodium alginate, sodium phosphates, soybean oil, spices, sugar, Fried in vegetable oil

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E401 Sodium alginate , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E541 Sodium aluminium phosphate , E627 Disodium guanylate , E631 Disodium inosinate

As written on the pack

White meat chicken, water, bleached wheat flour, wheat flour, yellow corn flour, modified food starch, annatto extract, dextrose, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, dried garlic, dried onion, dried yeast, hydrolyzed corn gluten, leavening (sodium aluminum phosphate, sodium bicarbonate), leavening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), oat fiber, paprika extract (color), salt, sodium alginate, sodium phosphates, soybean oil, spices, sugar. Fried in vegetable oil. Contains 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.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E401 Sodium alginate A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E627 Disodium guanylate Disodium guanylate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
  • E631 Disodium inosinate Disodium inosinate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
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.

  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 78 cooked chicken

From least to most processed, this one ranks 78th. 79% of the cooked chicken 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 78 cooked chicken, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0023700060211, last edited 20 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.