The Dirty 25: Ultra-Processed Ingredients Exposed
Browse the 25 worst additives lurking in your food, or look up any additive to find out what it really is and why you should care.
🔬 Look Up Any Additive
Found a weird ingredient on a label? Type it here and our AI will tell you exactly what it is.
📋 The Dirty 25
The most common and concerning ultra-processed additives, curated and researched.
🔑 Quick Label-Reading Tips
If you can't pronounce it — it's probably ultra-processed
5+ ingredients with chemical names — = likely NOVA Group 4 (ultra-processed)
"Natural flavors" — is often a catch-all hiding MSG, castoreum, or other processed additives
"Made with real..." — usually means the product is mostly NOT that ingredient
Look for short ingredient lists — with recognizable whole foods your grandmother would know
Ingredients are listed by weight — — if sugar or an additive is in the first 3, rethink the purchase
“If your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, you probably shouldn't eat it.” — Michael Pollan