Is Skittles Fruit Strings ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 18 ingredients
- 4 additives
- Nutri-Score D
Less processed candies
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Fruit Juices (Equivalence from concentrates per 100g Apple, Strawberry 4 Orange), Glucose Syrup (ultra-processing marker), Sugar (processing marker), Gelling Agent (ultra-processing marker) (Gelatine (ultra-processing marker)), Acidity Regular (Citric Acid), Coconut Oil (processing marker), Natural Flavourings (ultra-processing marker), Natural Colourings (ultra-processing marker) (Spirulina, Black Carrot, Paprika, Curcumin (ultra-processing marker)), Glazing Agent (ultra-processing marker) (Carnauba Wax (ultra-processing marker))
Additives: E100 Curcumin , E330 Citric acid , E428 Gelatine , E903 Carnauba wax
As written on the pack
Fruit Juices (Equivalence from concentrates per 100g Apple 35g, Strawberry 4 Orange 3g), Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Gelling Agent (Gelatine), Acidity Regular (Citric Acid), Coconut Oil, Natural Flavourings, Natural Colourings (Spirulina, Black Carrot, Paprika, Curcumin), Glazing Agent (Carnauba Wax),
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.
- E100 Curcumin 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.
- E428 Gelatine Gelatine is a gelling agent made from collagen in animal skin and bones.
- E903 Carnauba wax Carnauba wax comes from the leaves of a Brazilian palm and gives sweets and coated chocolates their shine.
- 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.
- Gelling agent Gelling agents such as pectin, gelatine or carrageenan set liquids into gels and stabilise textures.
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- Glazing agent Glazing agents, waxes and shellac for example, coat a surface to make it shiny or stop pieces sticking together.
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.
- Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
- Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
4 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.
- Candies Products in the category "Candies" are at least group 3.
- Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
- Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
- Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
Among 486 candies
From least to most processed, this one ranks 341st. 96% of the candies here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5060545680018, last edited 27 February 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.