Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's 4X concentrated summer fruits squash ultra-processed?

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Pack of Sainsbury's 4X concentrated summer fruits squash

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
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Water, Apple Juice from Concentrate 38%, Acids (Citric Acid), Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Strawberry Juice from Concentrate 0.8%, Blackcurrant Juice from Concentrate 0.6%, Flavourings, Cherry Juice 0.3%, Sweeteners (Sucralose), Acesulfame K, Raspberry Juice 0.3%, Colour (Anthocyanins), Preservatives (Potassium Sorbate), Sodium Metabisulphite

Additives: E163 Anthocyanins , E202 Potassium sorbate , E223 Sodium metabisulphite , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E950 Acesulfame k , E955 Sucralose

As written on the pack

Water, Apple Juice from Concentrate (38%), Acids: Citric Acid; Acidity Regulator: Sodium Citrate; Strawberry Juice from Concentrate (0.8%), Blackcurrant Juice from Concentrate (0.6%), Flavourings, Cherry Juice from Concentrate (0.3%), Sweeteners: Sucralose, Acesulfame K; Raspberry Juice From Concentrate (0.3%), Colour: Anthocyanins; Preservatives: Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Metabisulphite (Sulphites).

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Sweetener Sweeteners give sweetness with few or no calories, many at hundreds of times the strength of sugar.
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

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00464727, last edited 5 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.