Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Red Bull Energy Drink 250 ml ultra-processed?

250 ml Sweetened beverages Sold in Sweden

Pack of Red Bull Energy Drink 250 ml

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
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed sweetened beverages

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

Vatten, sackaros, glukos, syra (citronsyra), kolsyra, taurin 0.4%, surhetsreglerande medel (natriumkarbonater, magnesiumkarbonater), koffein 0.03%, vitaminer (niacin, pantotensyra, B6, B12), aromer, färgämnen (sockerkulör, riboflaviner)

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E290 Carbon dioxide , E330 Citric acid , E500 Sodium carbonates , E504 Magnesium carbonates

As written on the pack

Vatten, sackaros, glukos, syra (citronsyra), kolsyra, taurin (0,4%), surhetsreglerande medel (natriumkarbonater, magnesiumkarbonater), koffein (0,03 %), vitaminer (niacin, pantotensyra, B6, B12), aromer, färgämnen (sockerkulör, riboflaviner),

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.

  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • E290 Carbon dioxide Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • 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.
1 ingredient that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 550 sweetened beverages

From least to most processed, this one ranks 400th. 94% of the sweetened beverages 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 550 sweetened beverages, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 9002490215408, last edited 3 June 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.