Is Cherry Coca-Cola Zero Sugar ultra-processed?

12 oz Diet cola soft drink Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
E150c Ammonia caramel
E950 Acesulfame k
E951 Aspartame

9 ingredients
5 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed colas

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, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Aspartame (ultra-processing marker), Potassium Benzoate, Natural Flavors (ultra-processing marker), Potassium Citrate, Acesulfame Potassium (ultra-processing marker), Caffeine

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E212 Potassium benzoate , E338 Phosphoric acid , E950 Acesulfame k , E951 Aspartame

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

As written on the pack

Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Aspartame, Potassium Benzoate, Natural Flavors, Potassium Citrate, Acesulfame Potassium, Caffeine

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.
E950 Acesulfame k Acesulfame K is a synthetic sweetener about 200 times sweeter than sugar, often combined with aspartame or sucralose.
E951 Aspartame Aspartame is a synthetic sweetener about 200 times sweeter than sugar, used in diet drinks and sugar-free products.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

1 ingredient 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 67 diet cola soft drink

From least to most processed, this one ranks 14th. 99% of the diet cola soft drink 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 67 diet cola soft drink, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0049000047561, last edited 8 September 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 C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.