Is Lucozade Original energy drink ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 22 ingredients
- 8 additives
- Nutri-Score E
Less processed energy drinks
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Carbonated Water, Glucose Syrup (ultra-processing marker) 15%, Acids (Citric Acid, Lactic Acid), Flavourings (ultra-processing marker), Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Preservative (processing marker) (Potassium Sorbate (processing marker)), Caffeine, Sweeteners (ultra-processing marker) (Sucralose Acesulfame K), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Colours (ultra-processing marker) (Sunset Yellow (ultra-processing marker), Ponceau 4R (ultra-processing marker)), Niacin (Vitamin B3), Sunset Yellow (ultra-processing marker), Ponceau 4R may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children
Additives: E110 Sunset yellow FCF , E124 Ponceau 4r , E202 Potassium sorbate , E270 Lactic acid , E300 Ascorbic acid , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E950 Acesulfame k
As written on the pack
Carbonated Water, Glucose Syrup (15%), Acids (Citric Acid, Lactic Acid), Flavourings, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Caffeine, Sweeteners (Sucralose Acesulfame K), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Colours (Sunset Yellow, Ponceau 4R), Niacin (Vitamin B3). Sunset Yellow and Ponceau 4R may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.
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).
- E124 Ponceau 4r 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.
- 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.
- Sweetener Sweeteners give sweetness with few or no calories, many at hundreds of times the strength of sugar.
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.
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.
- E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
- Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
Among 33 energy drink with sugar
From least to most processed, this one ranks 20th. 97% of the energy drink with sugar here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5054267000612, last edited 11 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 E (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.