Is Vermont Uncured turkey pepperoni stick ultra-processed?

.05 oz Cooked chicken 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:

E160c Paprika extract

12 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score B

Less processed cooked chicken

Organic Roasted Chicken Breast Wild Planet 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1
Chicken Nuggets Perdue 15 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Fillets Kirkland Signature 21 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Strips Just Bare 22 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3

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

Turkey, sea salt (processing marker), paprika, mustard seed, sugar (processing marker), celery powder, cherry, paprika extract (ultra-processing marker), garlic, spice, lactic acid starter culture, beef collagen casing

Additives: E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Turkey, sea salt, paprika, mustard seed, sugar, cultured celery powder, cherry powder, paprika extract, garlic powder, spice extractives, lactic acid starter culture, beef collagen casing.

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.

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.

Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 78 cooked chicken

From least to most processed, this one ranks 28th. 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 0606274329061, last edited 6 January 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 B (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.