Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Mentos Fruit ultra-processed?

1.32oz Candies Sold in Australia and New Zealand

Pack of Mentos Fruit

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:

  • 20 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

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

sugar, wheat syrup, fruit juices from concentrate (strawberry, orange, lemon), coconut oil, citric acid, corn starch, cocoa butter, NATURAL and ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, maltodextrin, sucrose fatty acid esters, gellan gum, carnauba wax, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, gum arabic, colored with (beta-carotene), vegetable juice

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160ai Beta-carotene , E330 Citric acid , E414 Acacia gum , E418 Gellan gum , E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose , E903 Carnauba wax

As written on the pack

SUGAR, WHEAT SYRUP, FRUIT JUICES FROM CONCENTRATE (STRAWBERRY, ORANGE, LEMON) (2%), COCONUT OIL, CITRIC ACID, CORN STARCH, COCOA BUTTER, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, MALTODEXTRIN, SUCROSE FATTY ACID ESTERS, GELLAN GUM, CARNAUBA WAX, SODIUM CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE, GUM ARABIC, COLORED WITH: BETA-CAROTENE, VEGETABLE JUICE

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose Carboxymethyl cellulose is a thickener made by chemically modifying cellulose from wood or cotton.
  • E903 Carnauba wax Carnauba wax comes from the leaves of a Brazilian palm and gives sweets and coated chocolates their shine.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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  • 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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • Fruit juice concentrate An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
5 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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • 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 358th. 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 0073390000165, last edited 6 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.