Is Trader Joe's Banana & Almond Butter Protein Smoothie Beverage With Coconut Water & Pea Protein ultra-processed?

16 fl oz (1 pt) 473 ml Sweetened beverages Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

E418 Gellan gum
E322 Lecithins
E410 Locust bean gum

22 ingredients
5 additives

Less processed sweetened beverages

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

water, coconut water (coconut water, citric, ascorbic acids (to maintain color)), banana (bananas, citric, ascorbic acids, to maintain color), almond butter (roasted almonds), pea protein, vanilla extract (water, ethyl alcohol, vanilla bean), sea salt (processing marker), sunflower lecithin (ultra-processing marker), gellan gum (ultra-processing marker), carob bean gum (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E1510 Ethanol , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E410 Locust bean gum , E418 Gellan gum

As written on the pack

WATER, COCONUT WATER (COCONUT WATER, CITRIC AND ASCORBIC ACIDS [TO MAINTAIN COLOR]), BANANA PUREE (BANANAS, CITRIC AND ASCORBIC ACIDS [TO MAINTAIN COLOR). ALMOND BUTTER (ROASTED ALMONDS), PEA PROTEIN POWDER, VANILLA EXTRACT (WATER, ETHYL ALCOHOL, VANILLA BEAN EXTRACTIVES), SEA SALT, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN, GELLAN GUM, CAROB BEAN GUM

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.

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.

Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 550 sweetened beverages

From least to most processed, this one ranks 330th. 94% of the sweetened beverages 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 550 sweetened beverages, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00633550, last edited 4 October 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.
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.