Is Rubicon Spring water ultra-processed?

Flavored sparkling waters Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
Sweetener
Fruit juice concentrate
E955 Sucralose

20 ingredients
5 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed flavored sparkling waters

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 Spring Water 97%, Fruit Juices from Concentrate (ultra-processing marker) (Raspberry 1.5%, Black Cherry 1%), Acid (Citric Acid), Natural Flavourings (ultra-processing marker), Natural Raspberry Flavouring (ultra-processing marker), Black Carrot Concentrate, Preservative (processing marker) (Potassium Sorbate (processing marker)), Sweetener (ultra-processing marker) (Sucralose (ultra-processing marker)), Acidity Regulator (Trisodium Citrate), Green Tea Extract, vitamins, Niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E331iii Trisodium citrate , E955 Sucralose

As written on the pack

Carbonated Spring Water (97%), Fruit Juices from Concentrate (Raspberry 1.5%, Black Cherry 1%), Acid (Citric Acid), Natural Flavourings, Natural Raspberry Flavouring, Black Carrot Concentrate, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Sweetener (Sucralose), Acidity Regulator (Trisodium Citrate), Green Tea Extract, Vitamins (Niacin, B6, B12). No artificial colours, No artificial flavourings

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.

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.

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.

Fruit juice concentrate An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.

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.

E202 Potassium sorbate 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.
Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 69 flavored sparkling waters

From least to most processed, this one ranks 64th. 90% of the flavored sparkling waters 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 69 flavored sparkling waters, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000382112822, last edited 27 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 C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.