Are Ritz Crackers Healthy? Ritz Original Nutrition Facts and Ingredients

Ritz crackers nutrition facts: are they healthy?

Here is one serving of 5 crackers (16 g), from the manufacturer's label as listed in the USDA branded foods database:

Per serving the numbers look small: 80 calories, 1 g of sugar and 1 g of saturated fat. The problem is what is missing. There is no fiber, only 1 g of protein, and the flour is refined, so 5 crackers do little to fill you up.

Sodium is 130 mg per serving, about 6% of the 2,300 mg daily value used on US labels. That sounds modest, but few people stop at 5 crackers. Ritz have 5 calories per gram, and about 51% of those calories come from fat.

On our calculation the nutrition part of the score lands at Nutri-Score E, the lowest grade, mostly because of salt and saturated fat per 100 g with nothing on the positive side (no fiber, little protein).

Ritz crackers ingredients

The 13.7 oz box of Ritz Original lists these ingredients, in label order:

• Unbleached enriched flour. refined wheat flour with niacin, iron, thiamine, riboflavin and folic acid added back. It is the main ingredient.
• Canola oil and palm oil. the fat that makes Ritz buttery and flaky. Palm oil is high in saturated fat.
• Sugar and salt. Ritz taste slightly sweet as well as salty.
• Leavening (calcium phosphate, baking soda). makes the crackers rise and puff.
• High fructose corn syrup. a second, industrial sweetener, used in a small amount.
• Soy lecithin. an emulsifier that helps the oil and dough mix evenly.
• Natural flavor. added flavoring. The label does not say what it is made from.

Older labels and some other Ritz boxes list a vegetable oil blend instead of canola and palm oil, and some add malted barley flour. Flavored Ritz, Ritz Fresh Stacks, Crisp and Thins and the whole wheat version all have their own labels.

Are Ritz crackers ultra-processed?

Yes. NOVA, the food-processing scale used in nutrition research, puts a food in group 4, ultra-processed, when its ingredient list has substances rarely used in home kitchens, such as high fructose corn syrup, or additives used to make the product more appealing, such as flavors and emulsifiers. Ritz Original has all three: high fructose corn syrup, natural flavor and soy lecithin.

The NOVA authors also name sweet or savory packaged snacks and cookies (biscuits) among the most common ultra-processed foods. Ritz fit that picture.

None of the additives on this label is one that our method flags for published health evidence. Calcium phosphate, baking soda and soy lecithin are common and low concern. Ritz score low because of what the food is as a whole, not because of one scary ingredient.

Why Ritz score 18 out of 100

The Truvi score (our method) combines three parts of the label: processing, nutrition and how easy the food is to overeat. Ritz do badly on all three.

• Processing. NOVA 4, with 5 additive codes on the label (lecithin, calcium phosphate and baking soda).
• Nutrition. Nutri-Score E on our calculation, driven by salt and saturated fat, with no fiber to offset them.
• Overeating. Ritz meet the fat and sodium cluster of the hyper-palatable food definition by Fazzino and colleagues (2019): more than 25% of calories from fat and at least 0.3% sodium by weight. Ritz have 51% of calories from fat and about 0.8% sodium. At 5 calories per gram they are also very calorie-dense.

If you like Ritz, the simple fix is the portion: count out a serving and pair it with something that has protein or fiber, such as cheese, hummus or sliced vegetables. If you eat crackers often, a whole grain cracker with a short ingredient list is the better everyday choice.

Crackers that score higher

These five score higher on the same scale. The Triscuits are the direct swap: whole grain wheat, no sugar, NOVA 3. The two oat products come from the wider biscuits category our database files Ritz under; they are not crackers.

• 

  Weetabixfood Redy Brek

  A UK instant oat cereal, not a cracker. It is sold mainly in the UK, so it may be hard to find in US stores.

  NOVA 3 · Photo: fooducate.69C4FC37-729D-E99F-4C7E-8A2D263B82A4, CC BY-SA 3.0

  68Good

• 

  Nabisco-Triscuit Hint of Salt

  Triscuit Hint of Salt. Per 28 g serving: 120 calories, 3 g fiber, 3 g protein and no sugar. Three ingredients.

  NOVA 3 · Reported at Walmart · Photo: macrofactor, CC BY-SA 3.0

  67Good

• 

  nabisco Triscuit Crackers Rye with Caraway Seed 1x8.5 Oz

  Triscuit Rye with Caraway Seed. Per 28 g serving: 120 calories, 4 g fiber and no sugar. Saltier than Hint of Salt.

  NOVA 3 · Reported at Market Basket · Photo: cuisto, CC BY-SA 3.0

  62Good

• 

  Jack & the Beanstalk Quick Oats

  Plain quick oats, not a cracker. Per 40 g serving: 150 calories, 5 g protein, 4 g fiber and no sugar.

  NOVA 3 · Photo: fooducate.693C4EFC-9F3E-1C7B-43A4-8D4B390EBA66, CC BY-SA 3.0

  66Good

• 

  triscuit Reduced Fat Triscuit

  Reduced Fat Triscuit. Per 28 g serving: 110 calories, 4 g fiber and no sugar.

  NOVA 3 · Photo: smoothie-app, CC BY-SA 3.0

  65Good

Full ingredient list and nutrition

Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate vitamin b1}, riboflavin {vitamin b2}, folic acid), canola oil, palm oil, sugar, salt, leavening (calcium phosphate, baking soda), high fructose corn syrup, soy lecithin, natural flavor.

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