Is rice ultra-processed?

Plain rice is group 1, whatever the variety and whether or not it is white. Milling removes the husk and, for white rice, the bran and germ. Removal does not move a food.

Pouches are usually fine

Microwave pouches are one of the better surprises in a supermarket. Plain ones typically contain rice, water and a little oil, which makes them group 3: a group 1 food with a group 2 ingredient added.

• Plain dried rice, any variety: group 1.
• Plain microwave pouch of rice, water and oil: group 3.
• Flavoured pouches, pilau, mexican, egg fried: usually group 4, from flavourings and flavour enhancers.
• Rice pudding in a tin: group 3 or 4 depending on whether it carries thickeners.
• Rice cakes are group 1 or 3; flavoured ones are group 4.

The same pattern as coffee: the version that looks most industrial, a sealed pouch cooked in two minutes, is often nearer group 1 than the thing beside it that looks homemade.

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.