Is Sweet Shoppe Sour Straws Strawberry Flavour ultra-processed?

140 g Candies Sold in Canada

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
E129 Allura red
E171 Titanium dioxide
E422 Glycerol
E428 Gelatine
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

21 ingredients
8 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed candies

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

Sugars (processing marker) (sugar, maltose syrup, apple juice, high fructose syrup), Wheat flour, Water, Shortening (palm oil, vitamine E, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (ultra-processing marker)), Citric acid, Malic acid, Artificial flavour (ultra-processing marker), Sodium citrate, Salt (processing marker), Gelatin (ultra-processing marker), mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (ultra-processing marker), Glycerol (ultra-processing marker), Titanium dioxide (ultra-processing marker), Allura red (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E129 Allura red , E171 Titanium dioxide , E296 Malic acid , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E422 Glycerol , E428 Gelatine , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Sugars (sugar, maltose syrup, apple juice concentrate, high fructose syrup), Wheat flour, Water, Shortening (palm oil, vitamine E, mono - and diglycerides of fatty acids), Citric acid, Malic acid, Artificial flavour, Sodium citrate, Salt, Gelatin, Mono - and diglycerides of fatty acids, Glycerol, Titanium dioxide, Allura red

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.

E129 Allura red Allura red AC is a synthetic red azo dye (FD&C Red No. 40 in the US).
E171 Titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide is a white pigment.
E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
E428 Gelatine Gelatine is a gelling agent made from collagen in animal skin and bones.
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 486 candies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 224th. 96% of the candies 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 486 candies, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0667888090648, last edited 17 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 E (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.