Is it ultra-processed?
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Is White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn ultra-processed?

Popcorn Sold in the United States

Pack of White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn

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:

  • 21 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed popcorn

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

popcorn, vegetable oil (corn oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil), cheddar cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), whey, buttermilk, salt, sodium phosphate, lactic acid, maltodextrin, whey, natural cheese flavor, salt, autolyzed yeast extract, salt

Additives: E270 Lactic acid

As written on the pack

popcorn, vegetable oil (corn oil, sunflower oil, and/or soybean oil), cheddar cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), whey, buttermilk, salt, sodium phosphate, lactic acid, maltodextrin, whey solids, natural cheese flavor, salt, autolyzed yeast extract, salt, contains: milk,

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.

  • 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.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
  • Microbial culture Microbial cultures ferment foods such as yoghurt, cheese and sourdough.
  • Enzyme Enzymes carry out traditional processes such as cheese making and baking.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 188 popcorn

From least to most processed, this one ranks 160th. 57% of the popcorn 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 188 popcorn, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4099100012361, last edited 9 November 2023), 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.