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Heineken

Common questions

Is Heineken healthy?

Heineken scores 1/100 on Scout's independent analysis of ingredients, additives, and lab results — one of the lower scores in Scout's catalog. Heineken scores 1/100.

Has Heineken been lab-tested?

Yes. Heineken carries an independent laboratory panel from Independent third-party laboratory testing covering 1 contaminant (including Glyphosate) — the full results are on this page.

How processed is Heineken?

Heineken is NOVA Group 4: Ultra-Processed Foods.

How does Heineken compare to other beverages?

Heineken ranks #7 of 10 beverages in Scout's independent rankings. The current top score in the category is Honest Kids Organic Apple Juice Drink at 92/100.

Which ingredients drive Heineken's score?

In Scout's ingredient-by-ingredient analysis, Hops counts in its favor; Ethanol (Alcohol) is flagged as an ingredient of concern. The full breakdown, with why each one matters, is in the Key ingredients section on this page.

Healthy alternatives

92
Honest Kids Organic Apple Juice Drink
Honest
$35.09
5
Coca-Cola Original Taste (Yellow Cap, Kosher for Passover)
Coca-Cola
1
Coors Light
Coors
$3.78
1
Miller Lite
Miller
$35.99

See more

Heineken

Heineken
Lab tested
1 Poor

At a glance

Beneficial ingredients 1
Harmful ingredients 1
Owned by Heineken N.V.
Category Beverages
Summary

Heineken scores 1/100. Independent third-party testing detected 20.9 ppb glyphosate from conventional malted barley. The all-malt formulation is cleaner than American adjunct lagers (no corn or rice), but ethanol itself is a WHO IARC Group 1 carcinogen with no safe consumption level. Green-glass packaging is also light-struck prone. Owned by Heineken N.V.

Contaminants 1

Source: Independent third-party laboratory testing

Glyphosate
20.9 ppb
Moderate

A moderate level of glyphosate — elevated enough to be a real sourcing concern; cleaner-tested options exist.

Independent third-party testing detected glyphosate at 20.9 parts per billion.

Key ingredients 5

Ethanol (Alcohol)
Very Bad

Classified by WHO's IARC as a Group 1 carcinogen — definitively known to cause cancer in humans. Even moderate alcohol consumption is causally linked to cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, larynx, liver, and oropharynx. There is no safe level of alcohol consumption per the WHO (2023).

See more about Ethanol (Alcohol) →
Water
Neutral

Brewing water; the dominant ingredient by volume.

See more about Water →
Malted Barley
Neutral

The primary glyphosate-residue vector in beer. Conventional barley in North America is commonly sprayed with glyphosate (Roundup) as a pre-harvest desiccant to dry the grain uniformly for combine harvesting; residues persist through malting, mashing, and fermentation.

See more about Malted Barley →
Yeast
Neutral

Saccharomyces strain used for fermentation; not a health concern.

See more about Yeast →
Hops
Good

Whole hop flowers — traditional ingredient with mild antimicrobial polyphenols (xanthohumol, isohumulones).

See more about Hops →

Processing

Group 4 · Ultra-processed

Ultra-Processed Foods

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