What are the ingredients in root beer?
We found no official recipe, because root beer ingredients vary by brand; check the label. USDA lists root beer at 41 kcal, 10.6 g sugars, 0 g alcohol and 0 mg caffeine per 100 g. The FDA treats food with added safrole or oil of sassafras as adulterated.
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In this article
What is root beer made of?
We found no official source that gives one standard root beer recipe, and the USDA entries we read list no ingredients. Brands differ, so the ingredients list on the can or bottle is the reliable answer.
Is sassafras allowed in root beer?
Under US federal rule 21 CFR 189.180, food containing added safrole, oil of sassafras, isosafrole or dihydrosafrole is deemed adulterated. The rule also covers sassafras bark sold mainly to flavor another food, such as sassafras tea, and says oil of sassafras is about 80 percent safrole. The rule is based on a 1960 Federal Register order. It does not name root beer, but it applies to any food flavored that way.
Is there alcohol in root beer?
USDA FoodData Central lists 0 g of alcohol per 100 g for root beer, in both its SR Legacy and FNDDS (2024) entries.
How many calories and how much sugar?
| Per | Energy | Total sugars | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 g (USDA) | 41 kcal | 10.6 g | 0 mg |
| 12 fl oz can, 370 g (our calculation) | about 152 kcal | about 39.2 g | 0 mg |
The 370 g weight for 12 fl oz comes from the USDA SR Legacy entry. The diet root beer entry (FNDDS) shows 0 kcal and 0 g sugars per 100 g.
What we did not find
The old claims about root beer history, and which roots or herbs are used, have no official source we could open, so we leave them out.
People also ask
What is root beer made of?
We found no official standard recipe. Ingredients vary by brand, so read the label.
Does root beer have alcohol?
USDA FoodData Central lists 0 g of alcohol per 100 g for root beer.
Is sassafras banned in food?
FDA rule 21 CFR 189.180 deems food with added safrole or oil of sassafras to be adulterated.
Sources
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