Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Monster Energy Drink ultra-processed?

473 ml Carbonated soft drinks without fruit juice Sold in Canada and France

Pack of Monster Energy Drink

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
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed carbonated 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

carbonated water, sugar, glucose, citric acid, flavours, taurine, sodium citrate, grape skin extract (color), extract of root of panax ginseng, caffeine, sorbic acid, benzoic acid, niacinamide, salt, d-glucuronolactone, guarana seed extract, inositol, pyridoxine hydrochloride, sucralose, riboflavin, maltodextrin, cyanocobalamin

Additives: E200 Sorbic acid , E210 Benzoic acid , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E955 Sucralose

As written on the pack

carbonated water, sugar, glucose, citric acid, flavours, taurine, sodium citrate, grape skin extract (color), extract of root of panax ginseng, caffeine, sorbic acid, benzoic acid, niacinamide, salt, d-glucuronolactone, guarana seed extract, inositol, pyridoxine hydrochloride, sucralose, riboflavin, maltodextrin, cyanocobalamin

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.

  • E955 Sucralose Sucralose is a sweetener made by chlorinating sugar.
  • 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.

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.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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 14 carbonated soft drinks without fruit juice

From least to most processed, this one ranks 9th. 93% of the carbonated soft drinks without fruit juice 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 14 carbonated soft drinks without fruit juice, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0070847811190, last edited 28 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.