Is Uncle Tobys Original Cheerios ultra-processed?

560g Breakfast cereals rich in fibre Sold in Australia and New Zealand

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Invert sugar
E160b Annatto

25 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed breakfast cereals rich in fibre

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

Cereals 67% (Wheat 33%, Corn 25%, Oats 4.5%, Rice 4.5%), Wheat Starch (processing marker), Sugar (processing marker), Golden Syrup (ultra-processing marker), Vegetable Oil (processing marker), Caramel 1, Annatto (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Trisodium Phosphate, Minerals (Calcium, Iron, Zinc), vitamins, vitamin C, Niacin, vitamin E, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B2, Folic Acid

Additives: E160b Annatto , E339 Sodium phosphates , E339iii Trisodium phosphate

As written on the pack

Whole Grain Cereals (67%) [Wheat (33%), Corn (25%), Oats (4.5%), Rice (4.5%)], Wheat Starch, Sugar, Golden Syrup, Vegetable Oil, Colours (Caramel 1, Annatto), Salt, Acidity Regulator (Trisodium Phosphate), Minerals (Calcium, Iron, Zinc), Vitamins (C, Niacin, E, B1, B6, B2, Folic Acid).

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.

E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.

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.

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 52 breakfast cereals rich in fibre

From least to most processed, this one ranks 36th. 69% of the breakfast cereals rich in fibre 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 52 breakfast cereals rich in fibre, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 9300605153721, last edited 6 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.