Is Luden's Wild Cherry ultra-processed?

Candies Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring

15 ingredients
4 additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed candies

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

Inactive ingredients (ascorbic acid), citric acid, corn syrup, FD&C blue no.2, FD&C red no, 40, flavors (ultra-processing marker), malic acid, sodium acetate, sodium chloride, soybean oil (processing marker) (processing aid), sucrose (processing marker), water

Additives: E262 Sodium acetates , E262i Sodium acetate , E296 Malic acid , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Inactive ingredients: ascorbic acid, citric acid, corn syrup, FD&C blue no.2, FD&C red no. 40, flavors, malic acid, sodium acetate, sodium chloride, soybean oil (processing aid), sucrose, water

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.

Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

4 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.

Candies Products in the category "Candies" are at least group 3.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 486 candies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 40th. 96% of the candies 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 486 candies, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0814832010430, last edited 9 July 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.