Is mountain dew code red ultra-processed?

12 FL OZ (355 mL) Sodas 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:

E102 Tartrazine
E129 Allura red
E133 Brilliant blue FCF
E414 Acacia gum
E452 Polyphosphates

17 ingredients
10 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed sodas

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, high fructose corn syrup concentrated orange juice, citric acid, sodium polyphosphates (ultra-processing marker), to protect flavor (processing marker), sodium benzoate (preserves freshness), natural flavor caffeine, sodium citrate, gum arabic (ultra-processing marker), calcium disodium edta (to protect flavor (processing marker)), red 40 (ultra-processing marker), yellow 5 (ultra-processing marker), blue 1 (ultra-processing marker), caffeine content (We're here to 101-0000)

Additives: E102 Tartrazine , E129 Allura red , E133 Brilliant blue FCF , E211 Sodium benzoate , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E385 Calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate , E414 Acacia gum , E452 Polyphosphates , E452i Sodium polyphosphate

As written on the pack

CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP CONCENTRATED ORANGE JUICE, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM POLYPHOSPHATES (TO PROTECT FLAVOR, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVES FRESHNESS), NATURAL FLAVOR CAFFEINE, SODIUM CITRATE, GUM ARABIC, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (TO PROTECT FLAVOR), RED 40, YELLOW 5, BLUE 1. CAFFEINE CONTENT: 54mg/12 fl oz We're here to 101-0000

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.

E102 Tartrazine Tartrazine is a synthetic yellow azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 5 in the US).
E129 Allura red Allura red AC is a synthetic red azo dye (FD&C Red No. 40 in the US).
E133 Brilliant blue FCF Brilliant blue FCF is a synthetic blue dye, listed in the US as FD&C Blue No. 1.
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.
E452 Polyphosphates Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.

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.

Sodas Products in the category "Sodas" are at least group 3.
Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 612 sodas

From least to most processed, this one ranks 485th. 94% of the sodas 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 612 sodas, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01206201, last edited 12 September 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 C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.