Is Candy Kittens Disco Dreams Gourmet Sour Chews ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 26 ingredients
- 7 additives
- Nutri-Score E
Less processed candies
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Glucose syrup (ultra-processing marker), sugar (processing marker), maltodextrin (ultra-processing marker), orange juice from concentrate 5%, apple juice from concentrate 5%, glucose-fructose syrup (ultra-processing marker), acid (citric acid), acidity regulators (sodium potassium tartrate), calcium carbonate (ultra-processing marker), potassium citrates, gelling agent (ultra-processing marker) (pectins (ultra-processing marker)), fruit and plant concentrates (safflower, radish, sweet potato, turmeric, lemon, apple, blackcurrant), potato protein, natural flavourings (ultra-processing marker), natural flavouring (ultra-processing marker), spirulina concentrate
Additives: E170 Calcium carbonates , E170i Calcium carbonate , E330 Citric acid , E332 Potassium citrates , E336 Potassium tartrates , E336ii Dipotassium tartrate , E440 Pectins
As written on the pack
Glucose syrup, sugar, maltodextrin, 5% orange juice from concentrate, 5% apple juice from concentrate, glucose-fructose syrup, acid (citric acid), acidity regulators: sodium potassium tartrate, calcium carbonate and potassium citrates, gelling agent: pectins, fruit and plant concentrates (safflower, radish, sweet potato, turmeric, lemon, apple, blackcurrant), potato protein, natural flavourings, natural flavouring, spirulina concentrate.
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.
- E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
- E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
- Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
- Gelling agent Gelling agents such as pectin, gelatine or carrageenan set liquids into gels and stabilise textures.
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.
- Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
- Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
- Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
3 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.
- Candies Products in the category "Candies" are at least group 3.
- Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
- Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
Among 119 gummi candies
From least to most processed, this one ranks 77th. 99% of the gummi candies here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5060384263663, last edited 26 March 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.