Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sparkling Ice Starburst Cherry ultra-processed?

Carbonated waters Sold in the United States

Pack of Sparkling Ice Starburst Cherry

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:

  • 25 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed carbonated 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 water, apple juice, fruit, vegetable juice (for color), natural flavors, green tea extract, d-alpha-tocopherol acetate (vitamin e), niacinamide (vitamin b3), calcium pantothenate (vitamin b5), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin b6), biotin, cyanocobalamin, sucralose, citric acid, gum arabic, ester gum, calcium disodium edta (to protect flavor), potassium benzoate (to ensure freshness)

Additives: E212 Potassium benzoate , E330 Citric acid , E385 Calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate , E414 Acacia gum , E445 Glycerol esters of wood rosin , E955 Sucralose

As written on the pack

CARBONATED WATER, APPLE JUICE CONCENTRATE, FRUIT AND VEGETABLE JUICE (FOR COLOR), NATURAL FLAVORS, GREEN TEA EXTRACT, D-ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL ACETATE (VITAMIN E), NIACINAMIDE (VITAMIN B3), CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE (VITAMIN B5), PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), BIOTIN, CYANOCOBALAMIN (VITAMIN B12), SUCRALOSE, CITRIC ACID, GUM ARABIC, ESTER GUM, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (TO PROTECT FLAVOR), POTASSIUM BENZOATE (TO ENSURE FRESHNESS)

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.

  • E414 Acacia gum Gum arabic (acacia gum) is the hardened sap of acacia trees, used to stabilise flavour emulsions in soft drinks and to coat sweets.
  • E445 Glycerol esters of wood rosin Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • 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.
1 ingredient that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 144 carbonated waters

From least to most processed, this one ranks 140th. 80% of the carbonated 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 144 carbonated waters, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0016571959265, 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.