Is Ribena No Added Sugar Concentrated Blackcurrant ultra-processed?

1.5L Blackcurrant soft drinks Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Colour
Flavouring
E163 Anthocyanins
E415 Xanthan gum

26 ingredients
5 additives
Nutri-Score B

Less processed fruit 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

water, blackcurrant juice trom concentrate 35%, acids (malic acid, citric acid), acidity regulators, cab c stabliser (xanthan gum (ultra-processing marker)), flavouring (ultra-processing marker), preservatives (processing marker), potassium sortate sodium bisulphite, colour (ultra-processing marker) (anthocyanins (ultra-processing marker)), contains a source of phenylanine concentrate 35%, acids (malic acid, citric acid), acidity regulators (cabcim enjoy ribena, find the best before end date on cap and bottle top, directions fir dooium bisulphite), colour (ultra-processing marker) (anthocyanins (ultra-processing marker)), contains a source of pd heity use (dilute 1 nart, 50 tn give a 250ml servi)

Additives: E163 Anthocyanins , E222 Sodium bisulphite , E296 Malic acid , E330 Citric acid , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

water, blackcurrant juice trom concentrate (35%), acids (malic acid, citric acid), acidity regulators (cab c stabliser (xanthan gum), flavouring, preservatives (potassium sortate sodium bisulphite, colour (anthocyanins). contains a source of phenylanine concentrate (35%), acids (malic acid, citric acid), acidity regulators (cabcim enjoy ribena. find the best before end date on cap or bottle top. directions fir dooium bisulphite), colour (anthocyanins), contains a source of pd heity use: dilute 1 nart (50 tn give a 250ml servi

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.

E163 Anthocyanins Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
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.

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 9 blackcurrant soft drinks

From least to most processed, this one ranks 4th. 100% of the blackcurrant soft drinks 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 9 blackcurrant soft drinks, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5054267003477, last edited 13 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 B (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.