Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kirkland Chocolate Banana Flavour Almond Beverage ultra-processed?

244 mL Almond-based drinks Sold in the United States

Pack of Kirkland Chocolate Banana Flavour Almond Beverage

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:

  • 23 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed almond-based drinks

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

Filtered Water, Banana, Pea Protein, Cane Sugar, Almonds, Cocoa Powder, Inulin, Calcium Carbonate, Sea Salt, Sunflower Lecithin, Locust Bean Gum, Gellan Gum, Vanilla Flavor, Vitamin A Palmatate, Ergocalciferol (Vitamin D2), DL Alphatocopherol (Vitamin E), Riboflavin (Vitamin B12), Zinc Gluconate, Cyanocoalamin (Vitamin B12)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E410 Locust bean gum , E418 Gellan gum

As written on the pack

Filtered Water, Organic Banana Puree, Organic Pea Protein, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Almonds, Organic Cocoa Powder, Organic Inulin, Calcium Carbonate, Sea Salt, Sunflower Lecithin, Organic Locust Bean Gum, Gellan Gum, Organic Vanilla Flavor, Vitamin A Palmatate, Ergocalciferol (Vitamin D2), DL Alphatocopherol (Vitamin E), Riboflavin (Vitamin B12), Zinc Gluconate, Cyanocoalamin (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.

  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
  • E418 Gellan gum Stabilisers are substances which make it possible to maintain the physico-chemical state of a foodstuff; stabilisers include substances which enable the maintenance of a homogenous dispersion of two or more immiscible substances in a foodstuff, substances which stabilise, retain or intensify an existing colour of a foodstuff and substances which increase the binding capacity of the food, including the formation of cross-links between proteins enabling the binding of food pieces into re-constituted food.
  • 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.

  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 116 almond-based drinks

From least to most processed, this one ranks 104th. 85% of the almond-based drinks 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 116 almond-based drinks, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0096619274840, last edited 3 September 2023), 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.