What's really in your food?
Ingredient-level safety scores for 859,000+ US food products, current as of May 2026. According to the FDA's Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) inventory and CSPI's Chemical Cuisine evaluations, cross-referenced with current state-level ingredient bans, each rating is surfaced together with one click. Every score is a transparent derived index we compute from this public data, not an official FDA rating; see the Methodology for the exact formula.
70% of the 380,056 NOVA-classified products in our index are ultra-processed - see the full breakdown below.
Cross-references 850k+ US food products' ingredients with FDA/CSPI safety ratings, state bans & dye pledges for instant risk alerts.
- 859,664
- Products
- 296,812
- Ingredients
- 36,520
- Brands
- 26
- Flagged additives
Ultra-processed (NOVA Group 4)
The short answer
Across the 859,664 US food products we index, 70% of those NOVA-classified are ultra-processed, and 26 additives carry a synthetic-dye, preservative, or banned-substance flag.
- 70%
- of NOVA-classified products are ultra-processed (Group 4)
- 26
- additives flagged for dye, preservative, or ban concerns
- 22,612
- products contain Caramel Coloring, the most common flagged additive
- 859,664
- US food products scored on FDA SAFFA + CSPI
Every figure is computed live from our database of Open Food Facts products cross-referenced with FDA SAFFA regulatory status and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings.
How processed is the US food supply?
Share of the 380,056 NOVA-classified products in each processing level. NOVA (Monteiro et al.) groups foods from minimally processed to ultra-processed.
Which flagged additives appear in the most products?
Number of indexed products containing each additive PlainFoodSafe flags for synthetic dye, preservative, or banned-substance concerns.
FDA Food Dye Phase-Out
The FDA is phasing out 6 synthetic food dyes by October 2027. Red 3 was banned in January 2025. 9 of 22 major food companies have active removal pledges.
Most Common Concerning Ingredients
All ingredients →Flagged ingredients found in the most products across the database.
Products with Most Concerns
Full rankings →Products containing the highest number of flagged ingredients.
Safest Brands
View all brands →Across the 859,664 products we index, the average safety score is 97.6/100. The ten brands below average 100.0, 2.4 points above that fleet-wide average - none of their scored products have triggered an FDA SAFFA or CSPI caution flag.
Guides & Analysis
FDA Food Dye Ban
Complete timeline of the dye phase-out, company pledges, and affected products.
Reading Food Labels
Decode ingredient lists using FDA status, CSPI ratings, and safety scores.
Safest Brands in America
Data-driven ranking of 36,000+ brands by ingredient safety scores.
State Ingredient Bans
Complete tracker of state-level food additive bans and pending legislation.
Explore the database
Product data from OpenFoodFacts (Open Database License). Ingredient safety ratings from FDA SAFFA (Substances Added to Food) and CSPI Chemical Cuisine database. Safety scores are algorithmic assessments and should not replace professional medical or dietary advice. This site is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the FDA, USDA, or any food company.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does PlainFoodSafe get its data?
Data comes from Open Food Facts (a collaborative food database), FDA SAFFA (Substances Added to Food), and CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) additive assessments. Product nutrition and ingredient data is crowdsourced and verified.
How many products are in the PlainFoodSafe database?
PlainFoodSafe includes over 859,000 food products with ingredient lists, 296,000 unique ingredients, and data from 36,000+ brands. The database covers products sold in the United States.
Is PlainFoodSafe free?
Yes, PlainFoodSafe is completely free. You can search products, check ingredient safety, and compare brands without any account or subscription.
How are ingredient safety ratings determined?
Ingredient safety assessments come from FDA GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status and CSPI evaluations. These ratings reflect the current scientific consensus on additive safety, though individual sensitivities may vary.
Research
Original analysis from our editorial process, every statistic derived from our own database of 859,000+ US food products. See all research.
About this data
How PlainFoodSafe works, and why you can trust these scores
What this site is
PlainFoodSafe is a plain-language ingredient safety reference for over 859,000 U.S. food products. We cross-reference the FDA's Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) inventory, CSPI Chemical Cuisine safety ratings, state additive-restriction records, and the Open Food Facts product catalogue to generate transparent, reproducible safety scores, every product page traces back to its original sources.
Editorial process
- Source. Download the latest structured exports from Open Food Facts, FDA SAFFA, and CSPI Chemical Cuisine, plus state additive-restriction records compiled from official legislative sources.
- Verify. Cross-reference each normalized ingredient against the FDA SAFFA regulatory status and CSPI safety rating, flagging ingredients with documented safety concerns from FDA enforcement actions or state bans.
- Publish. Calculate each safety score with a transparent, deterministic formula, and link every ingredient back to its source database so readers can check our rating against the original record.
Editorial independence & corrections
The PlainFoodSafe editorial process is independent and accepts no payment or sponsorship from any food brand or manufacturer. Found an error or a stale rating? File a correction via the contact page. See our methodology for the full scoring formula and source list.
Frequently asked
Where does PlainFoodSafe get its data?
Data comes from Open Food Facts (a collaborative food database), FDA SAFFA (Substances Added to Food), and CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) additive assessments. Product nutrition and ingredient data is crowdsourced and verified.
How many products are in the PlainFoodSafe database?
PlainFoodSafe includes over 859,000 food products with ingredient lists, 296,000 unique ingredients, and data from 36,000+ brands. The database covers products sold in the United States.
Is PlainFoodSafe free?
Yes, PlainFoodSafe is completely free. You can search products, check ingredient safety, and compare brands without any account or subscription.
How are ingredient safety ratings determined?
Ingredient safety assessments come from FDA GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status and CSPI evaluations. These ratings reflect the current scientific consensus on additive safety, though individual sensitivities may vary.