Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Energy Drink ultra-processed?

250 ml Sweetened beverages Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Energy Drink

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:

  • 21 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed sweetened beverages

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, Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Acid (Citric Acid), Taurine 0.5%, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Flavouring, Colour (Caustic Sulphite Caramel), Caffeine 0.03%, Sweetres (Acesulfame K, Sucralose), vitamins, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12

Additives: E150b Caustic sulphite caramel , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E950 Acesulfame k , E955 Sucralose

As written on the pack

Carbonated Water, Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Acid (Citric Acid) , Taurine (0.5%), Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Flavouring, Colour (Caustic Sulphite Caramel), Caffeine (0.03%), Sweetres (Acesulfame K, Sucralose), Vitamins (Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12).

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.

  • E150b Caustic sulphite caramel Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E950 Acesulfame k Acesulfame K is a synthetic sweetener about 200 times sweeter than sugar, often combined with aspartame or sucralose.
  • E955 Sucralose Sucralose is a sweetener made by chlorinating sugar.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
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.

  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 548 sweetened beverages

From least to most processed, this one ranks 493rd. 94% of the sweetened beverages 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 548 sweetened beverages, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5020379150651, last edited 27 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.