The Ultra-Processing Reality
27.8%
of all products are ultra-processed (PS >8.0)
11.7%
score PS >12 (extremely processed)
445K+
total products analyzed
What Makes Food Ultra-Processed?
Foods scoring PS >8.0 typically contain industrial formulations with:
- 5+ types of additives (preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers)
- Ingredients you'd never find in a home kitchen
- Multiple stages of industrial processing
- Engineered for hyper-palatability and extended shelf life
- Little to no whole food content
The Most Ultra-Processed Products We Found
These are actual products from our database with the highest processing scores. At the very top are novelty cookie tins and candy assortments, the longest with 328 ingredients, and the highest Processing Score is 105.3, more than 13x the Level 4 (ultra-processed) threshold.
The most ultra-processed products in our database, by processing score
For context: a single-ingredient whole food scores 1.0, and the Level 4 threshold is 8.0. These products are in a league of their own, representing the extreme end of industrial food processing.
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What We Learned
- Cookie and snack products dominate: Most of the highest-scoring products are in the Cookies & Crackers category, followed by candy and snacks.
- Ingredient counts are shocking: Products with 100+ ingredients are not uncommon. The average ultra-processed food has 25+ ingredients.
- Holiday/novelty foods score highest: Gingerbread kits, cookie collections, and variety packs tend to have the highest scores.
- Even "Unknown Brand" products score high: Store brands and generic products can be just as ultra-processed as name brands.