Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Dr Pepper & Cream Soda ultra-processed?

355 ml Sodas Sold in the United States

Pack of Dr Pepper & Cream Soda

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:

  • 10 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed sodas

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, and less of 2% (caramel color), natural and artificial flavors, sodium benzoate (preservative), phosphoric acid, caffeine, sodium phosphate

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E211 Sodium benzoate , E338 Phosphoric acid

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

As written on the pack

carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup and 2% or less of: caramel color, natural and artificial flavors, sodium benzoate (preservative), phosphoric acid, caffeine, sodium phosphate.

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 613 sodas

From least to most processed, this one ranks 426th. 94% of the sodas 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 613 sodas, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0078000033489, last edited 6 August 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.