GoodSwap Get notified
Nesquik Ready to drink low fat chocolate milk
Photo: Open Food Facts contributors (CC BY-SA)

Chocolate milks

Nesquik Ready to drink low fat chocolate milk

8 fl oz

Poor out of 100 High confidence
  • Ultra-processed
  • Contains added sugars
  • Contains emulsifiers studied for gut effects
  • Contains artificial flavors
Get GoodSwap

Why it scores 30

Nesquik Ready to drink low fat chocolate milk scores 30 out of 100 (Poor) under GoodSwap’s published rules. What moved the score most:

  1. Sugar: An added sugar. Strong
  2. Ultra-processed (NOVA 4): Classified NOVA 4: made with industrial ingredients and additives. Strong
  3. Added sugars 4.7 g / 100 ml: High in sugar. Strong

Every line of the math is on The Receipt below, with its evidence tier and sources.

Better milk

The same kind of product, at least 10 points higher, sold in the US. Never paid placements.

The Receipt

Ready to drink low fat chocolate milk

START100

Ingredients

  • Sugar
    Strong An added sugar. [1][2][3]
  • Carrageenan
    Strong In the NutriNet-Santé cohort, higher carrageenan intake was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes; cause and effect is not established. [4][5][6][7]
  • Cellulose gum (carboxymethylcellulose)
    Strong In a small randomized feeding trial, carboxymethylcellulose modestly increased abdominal discomfort and reduced gut microbiota diversity; in mice it promoted low-grade inflammation. [8][5][9][10]
  • Microcrystalline cellulose
    Info An ingredient class typical of ultra-processed foods (NOVA group 4). [11]
  • Natural and artificial flavors
    Strong The label does not disclose which flavoring substances are used. [12][2]
  • Gellan gum
    Info An ingredient class typical of ultra-processed foods (NOVA group 4). [11]
subtotal−39.5

Processing

  • Ultra-processed (NOVA 4)
    Strong Classified NOVA 4: made with industrial ingredients and additives. [11]
  • 2 kinds of ultra-processing markers
    Emerging Industrial additive classes found: flavoring and thickener, stabilizer or gelling agent. [11]
subtotal−19.5

Nutrition per 100 ml

  • Added sugars 4.7 g / 100 ml
    Strong High in sugar. [1]
  • Energy 59 kcal / 100 ml
    Info Energy-dense for its volume. Counted at half for this whole-food category. [2]
subtotal−11
TOTAL 30Poor

100 − 70 = 30

Can’t score above 79. Contains sugar, an ingredient of high concern. [1][2][3]

GTIN 00028000616502 · 2026-02-19

score v1.3.0 · kb 2026.10.11

High confidence

Same product, same score. Every time.

Nutrition per 100 ml

Energy59 kcal
Fat1.1 g
Saturated fat0.6 g
Trans fat0 g
Carbohydrates9.8 g
Sugars8.9 g
Added sugars4.7 g
Fiber0.4 g
Protein3.4 g
Salt0.1 g

Serving: 0.5 PT (240 ml)

Ingredients

High Moderate Not recognized Tap an ingredient for its evidence and rules.
Label text, as published

LOWFAT MILK, SUGAR, LESS THAN 2% OF COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, CALCIUM CARBONATE, CELLULOSE GEL, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CARRAGEENAN, SALT, GELLAN GUM, CELLULOSE GUM, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D3.

Allergens and diets

Contains: Milk

  • Not vegan
  • Palm-oil-free

Always check the package: recipes change.

Healthiest chocolate milks in the US

More from Nesquik

Sources

  1. Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children

    World Health Organization · Mar 4, 2015 · Agency assessment

    “In both adults and children, WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake”

    who.int

  2. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture · January 2026 · Regulator

    “Limit foods and beverages that include artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.”

    cdn.realfood.gov

  3. Added and free sugars should be as low as possible

    European Food Safety Authority · Feb 28, 2022 · Agency assessment

    “Sugar consumption is a known cause of dental caries.”

    efsa.europa.eu

  4. Food additive emulsifiers and the risk of type 2 diabetes: analysis of data from the NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort study

    The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology · May 2024 · Peer-reviewed

    “We found direct associations between the risk of type 2 diabetes and exposures to various food additive emulsifiers widely used in industrial foods, in a large prospective cohort of French adults.”

    doi.org

  5. Dietary emulsifiers impact the mouse gut microbiota promoting colitis and metabolic syndrome

    Nature · Mar 5, 2015 · Peer-reviewed

    “carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80, induced low-grade inflammation and obesity/metabolic syndrome in wild-type hosts and promoted robust colitis in mice predisposed to this disorder.”

    doi.org

  6. Re-evaluation of carrageenan (E 407) and processed Eucheuma seaweed (E 407a) as food additives

    European Food Safety Authority · Apr 26, 2018 · Agency assessment

    “However, the Panel noted uncertainties as regards the chemistry, the exposure assessment and biological and toxicological data.”

    doi.org

  7. Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–142 (List of Classifications)

    International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO) · IARC

    monographs.iarc.who.int

  8. Randomized Controlled-Feeding Study of Dietary Emulsifier Carboxymethylcellulose Reveals Detrimental Impacts on the Gut Microbiota and Metabolome

    Gastroenterology · March 2022 · Peer-reviewed

    “Relative to control subjects, CMC consumption modestly increased postprandial abdominal discomfort and perturbed gut microbiota composition in a way that reduced its diversity.”

    doi.org

  9. Food additive emulsifiers and risk of cardiovascular disease in the NutriNet-Santé cohort: prospective cohort study

    BMJ · Sep 6, 2023 · Peer-reviewed

    “This study found positive associations between risk of CVD and intake of five individual and two groups of food additive emulsifiers widely used in industrial foods.”

    doi.org

  10. Re-evaluation of celluloses E 460(i), E 460(ii), E 461, E 462, E 463, E 464, E 465, E 466, E 468 and E 469 as food additives

    European Food Safety Authority · Jan 16, 2018 · Agency assessment

    “The Panel concluded that there was no need for a numerical ADI and that there would be no safety concern at the reported uses and use levels for the unmodified and modified celluloses”

    doi.org

  11. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them

    Public Health Nutrition · April 2019 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  12. 21 CFR 101.22 Foods; labeling of spices, flavorings, colorings and chemical preservatives

    Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), U.S. Office of the Federal Register · Dec 19, 2016 · Law

    “whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”

    ecfr.gov

  13. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses

    BMJ · Feb 28, 2024 · Peer-reviewed

    “Greater exposure to ultra-processed food was associated with a higher risk of adverse health outcomes, especially cardiometabolic, common mental disorder, and mortality outcomes.”

    doi.org

  14. Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake

    Cell Metabolism · July 2019 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org