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 291 of 318
| Product | Triggers | LEAP Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
Clif Bar and Company — Organic Energy Food
Oat, Banana, Maple Sugar, Sunflower, Quinoa, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
La Victoria Foods Inc. — Organic Mild Chunky Salsa, Mild
Tomato, Citric Acid, Onion, Chili Pepper, Garlic
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. — Organic Apricot Preserves Reduced Sugar
Apricot, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Pineapple Aloe Vera Drink
Cane Sugar, Citric Acid, Pineapple, Grape
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Vegan Pomegranate Plum Sauce
Cane Sugar, Plum, Citric Acid, Carrot
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Mixed Berry Organic Fruit-flavored Snacks, Mixed Berry
Tapioca, Cane Sugar, Apple, Strawberry, Cherry, Raspberry, Citric Acid, Sunflower, Carrot
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Mars, Inc. — FAVEREDS WATERMELON, CHERRY, STRAWBERRY, FRUIT PUNCH FRUIT CHEWS, FAVEREDS
Cane Sugar, Corn, Citric Acid, Tapioca, Apple, FD&C Red #40, FD&C Blue #1, Fructose
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
General Mills Sales Inc. — Muir Glen Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes
Tomato, Citric Acid
|
8 | Phase 2 — Reintroduction |
|
Whole Foods Market, Inc. — 365 Everyday Value, Organic Diced Tomatoes
Tomato, Citric Acid
|
8 | Phase 2 — Reintroduction |
|
Tribe Mediterranean Foods, Inc. — Gluten-free Hummus
Canola/Rapeseed, Sesame, Garlic, Citric Acid, Onion
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. — Organic Blackberry Preserves
Cane Sugar, Citric Acid
|
8 | Phase 2 — Reintroduction |
|
Organics Lemonade
Grape, Lemon, Citric Acid
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. — Organic Diced Yellow Cling Peaches in Organic Pear Juice From Concentrate
Peach, Pear, Citric Acid
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
General Mills Sales Inc. — Cascadian Farm Organic Lemonade Frozen Concentrate
Cane Sugar, Lemon, Citric Acid
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
The Dannon Company, Inc. — Strawberry Banana Flavor Organic Smoothies, Strawberry Banana
Cow's Milk, Yogurt, Cane Sugar, Corn, Citric Acid, Lemon, Carob
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. — Organic Macaroni and Cheese Dinner
Wheat, Cow's Milk, Whey, Citric Acid
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Good Humor-breyers Ice Cream — Red Classics Cherry, Raspberry, Strawberry Flavored Sugar Free Ice Pops, Red Classics
Glycerin/Glycerol, Corn, Citric Acid, Aspartame, Turmeric, Cherry
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Sugar Cookie Organic Popcorn
Corn, Cane Sugar, Coconut, Rice, Sunflower, Beet, Citric Acid
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
The Quaker Oats Co./gatorade-van Camp — Organic Strawberry Thirst Quencher Powder, Strawberry
Cane Sugar, Citric Acid, Strawberry, Rice
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
General Mills, Inc. — Organic Bees, Bugs & Butterflies Fruit Flavored Snacks, Strawberry; Raspberry; Apple
Rice, Cane Sugar, Tapioca, Pear, Honey, Citric Acid, Sunflower, Carrot
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Campbell Soup Company — Pacific Foods Original Unsweetened Cashew Milk, Plant Based Milk, 32 Fl Oz Carton
Cashew, Citric Acid, Sesame
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
General Mills Sales Inc. — Annie's Organic Mini Bunny Fruit Snacks 5 Count
Tapioca, Cane Sugar, Pear, Citric Acid, Sunflower, Carrot, Turmeric
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Whole Foods Market, Inc. — Organic Blood Orange Italian Soda, Blood Orange
Orange, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid, Carrot
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
|
Whole Foods Market, Inc. — Organic Winged White Grape
Grape, Citric Acid
|
8 | Phase 2 — Reintroduction |
|
Pepsi-Cola North America Inc. — SODA, BAJA BLAST
Corn, Fructose, Citric Acid, Benzoic Acid, Caffeine, Cane Sugar, FD&C Yellow #5, FD&C Blue #1
|
8 | Phase 3 — Practitioner Guided |
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