Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Gatorade Zero Sugar Thirst Quencher Orange ultra-processed?

Sweetened beverages Sold in the United States

Pack of Gatorade Zero Sugar Thirst Quencher Orange

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:

  • 12 ingredients
  • 9 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

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

water, citric acid, sodium citrate, salt, monopotassium phosphate, gum arabic, natural flavor, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, sucrose acetate isobutyrate, glycerol ester of rosin, yellow 6

Additives: E110 Sunset yellow FCF , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E340 Potassium phosphates , E340i Monopotassium phosphate , E414 Acacia gum , E444 Sucrose acetate isobutyrate , E950 Acesulfame k , E955 Sucralose

As written on the pack

water, citric acid, sodium citrate, salt, monopotassium phosphate, gum arabic, natural flavor, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, sucrose acetate isobutyrate, glycerol ester of rosin, yellow 6.

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.

  • E110 Sunset yellow FCF Sunset yellow FCF is a synthetic orange azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 6 in the US).
  • E414 Acacia gum Gum arabic (acacia gum) is the hardened sap of acacia trees, used to stabilise flavour emulsions in soft drinks and to coat sweets.
  • E444 Sucrose acetate isobutyrate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 550 sweetened beverages

From least to most processed, this one ranks 484th. 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 550 sweetened beverages, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0052000043181, last edited 30 January 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.