Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Quest Protein Milkshake ultra-processed?

14 fl oz Protein shakes Sold in the United States

Pack of Quest Protein Milkshake

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:

  • 19 ingredients
  • 8 additives

Less processed protein shakes

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

Ultra filtered nonfat milk, cocoa, natural flavors, sucralose, salt, sodium polyphosphate, vegetable oil (sunflower, canola, and soybean), gum, trisodium phosphate, invert sugar, stevia sweetener, lecithin (sunflower, canola, and soybean), gellan

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E339 Sodium phosphates , E339iii Trisodium phosphate , E418 Gellan gum , E452 Polyphosphates , E452i Sodium polyphosphate , E955 Sucralose

As written on the pack

Ultra filtered nonfat milk, cocoa, natural flavors, sucralose, salt, sodium polyphosphate, vegetable oil (sunflower, canola, and/or soybean), gum, trisodium phosphate, invert sugar, stevia sweetener, lecithin (sunflower, canola, and/or soybean), gellan. Contains: milk, soy.

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.

  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • E955 Sucralose Sucralose is a sweetener made by chlorinating sugar.
  • 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.

  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 157 protein shakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 113th. 97% of the protein shakes 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 157 protein shakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0888849015986, last edited 22 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.