Is peanut butter ultra-processed?
Usually group 3. The no-stir jars are the exception.
Usually not, which surprises people who expect anything in a jar to be. Peanut butter made from roasted peanuts and salt is group 3, and plenty of supermarket own-brand jars are exactly that.
The tell is whether it separates
A jar that needs stirring is one where nothing is holding the oil in suspension, which is a strong signal there is no emulsifier or stabiliser in it. A jar that never separates usually contains palm oil or a stabiliser to prevent it, and that puts it in group 4.
- Peanuts, salt: group 3.
- Peanuts only: group 1, since nothing has been added.
- Palm oil, stabiliser, emulsifier, added sugar plus flavouring: group 4.
- Reduced-fat versions are usually group 4, because the fat is replaced with something.
Working this out from a receipt is harder than from a packet, because a till prints about twenty characters of product name and no ingredients list. That is the problem Bagged exists to solve, and how a receipt is structured explains why it is the hard part.
Common questions
- Is crunchy or smooth different?
- No. Texture comes from how much of the peanut is left whole, which adds nothing and removes nothing.
- Does the oil on top mean it has gone off?
- No, it means nothing is holding it in suspension, which is generally a sign of a shorter ingredients list.
One photo of a receipt answers this for your own shopping.
Bagged reads every line and reports what share of your food spend was ultra-processed, and which items it was.
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