Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Apple&Elderflower ultra-processed?

Fruit nectars Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Apple&Elderflower

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:

  • 12 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed fruit nectars

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

Apple juice from concentrate 50%, water, flavourings (including elderflower extract), acid (malic acid), preservatives (potassium sorbate), sodium metabisulphite sulphites, sweeteners (acesulfame), sucralose

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E296 Malic acid , E955 Sucralose

As written on the pack

Apple juice from concentrate (50%), water, flavourings (including elderflower extract), acid: malic acid, preservatives: potassium sorbate, sodium metabisulphite sulphites , sweeteners: acesulfame, sucralose

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.
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 26 fruit nectars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 20th. 62% of the fruit nectars 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 26 fruit nectars, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00442374, 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.