Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Ribena Blackcurrant ultra-processed?

250ml Fruit-based beverages Sold in the United Kingdom and Greece

Pack of Ribena Blackcurrant

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:

  • 13 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed fruit-based 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

Water, Blackcurrant Juice from Concentrate 6%, Sugar, Thickener, Polydextrose Acidity Regulator (Sodium Gluconate), Vitamin C Acid (Citric Acid), Flavourings, Sweeteners (Acesulfame K, Sucralose), Contains 1 serving

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E576 Sodium gluconate , E950 Acesulfame k , E955 Sucralose

As written on the pack

Water, Blackcurrant Juice from Concentrate (6%), Sugar, Thickener (Polydextrose Acidity Regulator (Sodium Gluconate), Vitamin C Acid (Citric Acid), Flavourings, Sweeteners (Acesulfame K, Sucralose). Contains 1 serving

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.

  • E950 Acesulfame k Acesulfame K is a synthetic sweetener about 200 times sweeter than sugar, often combined with aspartame or sucralose.
  • E955 Sucralose Sucralose is a sweetener made by chlorinating sugar.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Sweetener Sweeteners give sweetness with few or no calories, many at hundreds of times the strength of sugar.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.
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 781 fruit-based beverages

From least to most processed, this one ranks 680th. 50% of the fruit-based 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 781 fruit-based beverages, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5054267006102, last edited 29 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.