Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Almond Beverage Original ultra-processed?

1.89L Almond-based drinks Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Almond Beverage Original

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:

  • 13 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed almond-based drinks

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

almond base (filtered water, almond), cane sugar, tricalcium phosphate, sea salt, gellan gum, sunflower lecithin, locust bean gum, vitamin a palmitate, ergocalciferol, dl-alpha tocopherol acetate (vitamin e)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341iii Tricalcium phosphate , E410 Locust bean gum , E418 Gellan gum

As written on the pack

ALMOND BASE (FILTERED WATER, ALMOND), CANE SUGAR, TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SEA SALT, GELLAN GUM, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN, LOCUST BEAN GUM, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, ERGOCALCIFEROL (VITAMIN D2), DL-ALPHA TOCOPHEROL ACETATE (VITAMIN E).

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.

  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
  • E418 Gellan gum Stabilisers are substances which make it possible to maintain the physico-chemical state of a foodstuff; stabilisers include substances which enable the maintenance of a homogenous dispersion of two or more immiscible substances in a foodstuff, substances which stabilise, retain or intensify an existing colour of a foodstuff and substances which increase the binding capacity of the food, including the formation of cross-links between proteins enabling the binding of food pieces into re-constituted food.
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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 116 almond-based drinks

From least to most processed, this one ranks 59th. 85% of the almond-based drinks 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 116 almond-based drinks, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00947404, last edited 14 April 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.