Citric Acid in Grocery Products
Citric Acid is an MRT 176 panel substance found in 7,950 of the 20,682 products in our database. Here's every product we've analyzed that contains it.
Risk Distribution
How products containing Citric Acid break down by total trigger count:
Citric acid is one of 27 chemical additives tested on the MRT 176 panel, and it is by far the most prevalent. We found it in 38% of all grocery products in our database — that’s nearly 8,000 items.
While citric acid occurs naturally in citrus fruits, the citric acid used in food manufacturing is almost exclusively produced through Aspergillus niger fermentation of corn sugar. This means manufactured citric acid may trigger reactions in people sensitive to corn as well as those sensitive to citric acid itself.
Citric acid is used as a preservative, pH adjuster, and flavor enhancer. It appears in beverages, canned goods, condiments, snacks, and even some fresh-cut produce. If citric acid is on your Red list, finding packaged food without it is one of the biggest challenges of the LEAP protocol.
Related Reading
- What Does “Natural Flavors” Actually Mean? — Citric acid is often hidden inside “natural flavors”
- Products with the fewest MRT triggers overall
All Products Containing Citric Acid — Page 26 of 318
| Product | Triggers | LEAP Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
SORREL GINGER NECTARS
Ginger, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Kraft Heinz Foods Company — PINEAPPLE SPREAD, PINEAPPLE
Pineapple, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Kraft Heinz Foods Company — PEACH ICED TEA NATURALLY SWEETENED DRINK MIX, PEACH
Cane Sugar, Citric Acid, Tea
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Kraft Heinz Foods Company — LEMON LIME RUSH FLAVORED ELECTROLYTES AND WATER BEVERAGE, LEMON LIME RUSH
Citric Acid, FD&C Yellow #5, Blue #1
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
The J.M. Smucker Company — SEEDLESS JAM, RED RASPBERRY
Raspberry, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
The J.M. Smucker Company — CONCORD GRAPE FRUIT SPREAD, CONCORD GRAPE
Grape, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Kraft Heinz Foods Company — CRANBERRY RASPBERRY LIQUID WATER ENHANCER, CRANBERRY RASPBERRY
Citric Acid, FD&C Red #40, FD&C Blue #1
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Kraft Heinz Foods Company — CHERRY LIQUID DRINK MIX, CHERRY
Citric Acid, FD&C Red #40, Blue #1
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Conagra Foods-Snack Foods Group — MICROWAVE POPCORN, BUTTER
Corn, Cow's Milk, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Silkroad Exclusive Inc — NTH DEGREE, SPORT WATER, BLUEBERRY, POMEGRANATE, BLUEBERRY, POMEGRANATE
Cane Sugar, Citric Acid, Blueberry
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
PepsiCo, Inc. — STRAWBERRY LEMONADE ENERGY DRINK, STRAWBERRY LEMONADE
Benzoic Acid, Caffeine, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
BJ's Wholesale Club / Corporate Brands — ORGANIC LEMONADE
Cane Sugar, Lemon, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Coca-Cola USA Operations — TEA, PEACH
Tea, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Kraft Heinz Foods Company — ORANGE SHOCK FLAVORED ELECTROLYTES AND WATER BEVERAGE, ORANGE SHOCK
Citric Acid, FD&C Yellow #5, Blue #1
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Kinderfarms LLC — GRAPE FLAVORED NATURAL ORAL ELECTROLYTE SOLUTION, GRAPE
Citric Acid, Corn, Grape
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
ORIGINAL ALOE VERA DRINK
Cane Sugar, Citric Acid, Grape
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Whole Foods Market, Inc. — LEMON FRUIT BARS, LEMON
Cane Sugar, Lemon, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
MARKET PANTRY — MANDARIN ORANGES
Orange, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
The Quaker Oats Co./gatorade-Van Camp — STRAWBERRY KIWI ZERO SUGAR THIRST QUENCHER, STRAWBERRY KIWI
Citric Acid, Glycerin/Glycerol, FD&C Red #40
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
NESTLE — VELVETY SWEET MANGO PEACH FLAVORED SPARKLING WATER BEVERAGE, VELVETY SWEET MANGO PEACH
Citric Acid, Benzoic Acid, Aspartame
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Conagra Brands, Inc. — PURE SEEDLESS RED RASPBERRY JAM, SEEDLESS RED RASPBERRY
Raspberry, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. — DICED TOMATOES WITH HABANEROS, HOT
Tomato, Chili Pepper, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Kraft Heinz Foods Company — BLACKBERRY RASPBERRY LIQUID WATER ENHANCER, BLACKBERRY RASPBERRY
Citric Acid, FD&C Red #40, Blue #1
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Kraft Heinz Foods Company — GRAPE LIQUID DRINK MIX, GRAPE
Citric Acid, FD&C Red #40, Blue #1
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Pepsi-Cola North America Inc. — CALEB'S KOLA, FLAVORED COLA DRINK, GINGER, GINGER
Cane Sugar, Ginger, Citric Acid
|
3 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
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