Mandarin Orange Chicken

Breakdown

Ultra-processed · 3 ingredients to avoid

Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken scores 8/100 on Tallow — our avoid band. That number comes from what is on the label: the ingredients, how processed it is, and what it is packaged in. It is not a verdict on your diet — Tallow does not weigh calories, portion size or how often you eat it, so a high score means the ingredients are clean, not that the food is unlimited.

Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken lists 20 ingredients, starting with Chicken Dark Meat, Water, Corn Starch, Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour and Barley Flour. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, so the first few make up most of what you are eating.

At 8/100 Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken scores worse than most frozen meals we have scored. A higher-scoring option in frozen meals is Dovgan Taschki Pelmeni at 92/100.