Is it ultra-processed?
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Is A&W Root Beer ultra-processed?

355ml Root beers Sold in the United States and Germany

Pack of A&W Root Beer

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 7 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed root beers

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, sodium benzoate (preservative), NATURAL and ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, quillaia extract

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E211 Sodium benzoate , E999 Quillaia extract

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E150c Ammonia caramel.

As written on the pack

CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CARAMEL COLOR, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVE), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, QUILLAIA EXTRACT.

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • E150c Ammonia caramel Ammonia caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia compounds.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • High fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch: enzymes break it down to glucose and convert part of that into fructose, giving a syrup about as sweet as table sugar.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
2 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Sodas Products in the category "Sodas" are at least group 3.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 9 root beers

From least to most processed, this one ranks 7th. 78% of the root beers here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 9 root beers, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 07818707, last edited 31 July 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.