Black Bear
Open Food Facts brand roll-up for Black Bear, current as of September 2026. Screening averages and flag shares live in the short-answer band below. This hero only situates the catalog slice.
The short answer
Black Bear averages 93.4/100 across the 68 of 124 tracked products that carry an ingredient list, and 32.4% of those contain at least one separately flagged ingredient. The figure summarizes Open Food Facts labels cross-referenced with FDA SAFFA and CSPI; it does not establish recall status, allergy suitability, or the composition of products outside this snapshot.
- 93.4/100
- average ingredient-screening score across 68 scored products
- 124
- tracked products in this brand roll-up
- 32.4%
- scored products with at least one flagged ingredient
- 74.2%
- of NOVA-classified products that are ultra-processed (Group 4)
Source snapshot current as of September 2026; open individual products before making a product-specific decision.
Portfolio reading
Use the distribution, then open the outliers
With 124 tracked products, the useful signal is the shape of the portfolio rather than one headline score. The current concern-sorted list begins Classico Genoa Salami; Hard Salami; Black bear, sandwich pepperoni; 32.4% of records contain at least one flagged ingredient while the overall mean is 93.4/100. Open those outliers first, then compare neighboring formulations. The aggregate does not establish recall status, allergen suitability, or the composition of an item outside this snapshot.
Catalog evidence
Ingredient-list coverage comes before the score
Only 68 of 124 tracked Black Bear records (54.8%) include an ingredient list. The remaining 56 cannot be screened, so the 93.4/100 mean describes the labelled subset rather than the whole brand.
Next check: use the product rows below to verify the labelled subset, then compare the current package for any unscored item.
What the Data Says About Black Bear
Black Bear: 124 products tracked, 68 with an ingredient list, avg safety score 93.4/100, 32.4% of those scored products has at least one flagged ingredient.
Because ingredient lists cover only 54.8% of tracked records, this average is a description of the labelled subset, not a brand-wide tier. The coverage gap is the dominant limitation. Scoring methodology + dye-pledge context →
Among the 804 brands with 50+ products (the typical brand in that group flags 18% of its catalog), Black Bear's 32.4% flagged share is 14.4 points above that cohort median.
Processing mix (NOVA)
Black Bear processing intensity
Black Bear's NOVA-classified set is 66 products: 74.2% ultra-processed (Group 4, 49 items) with Group 4 (ultra-processed) largest at 49. That ultra-processed share sits 4.1 points below the 78.3% median for 1,323 brands with 50+ products. NOVA is processing intensity, not additive safety.
Shelf mix
Where Black Bear shows up in Open Food Facts
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Black Bear concentrates in Dairies (22, 36% of this top-five); Beverages (19); Meats and their products (15); Condiments (4); Plant-based foods and beverages (1).
Average score by leading shelf label
| Shelf | Scored n | Avg | Flagged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dairies | 22 | 100/100 | 0% |
| Beverages | 19 | 92.6/100 | 52.6% |
| Meats and their products | 14 | 81.1/100 | 71.4% |
| Condiments | 3 | 100/100 | 0% |
Cohort context
Flagged-ingredient share among large brands
Black Bear's 32.4% flagged share is measured across 68 scored products. The chart places that rate against the 50 brands with 50+ scored products in this snapshot, the same qualifying cohort used on the rankings page.
Black Bear flagged share vs large-brand cohort
32.4% of scored products carry at least one flagged ingredient
32% 0th percentile is at or above the flagged share of 0% of the 50 qualifying brands we track
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more qualifying brands. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Distribution as text
- 0%–10%
- 0 qualifying brands (0%)
- 10%–20%
- 0 qualifying brands (0%)
- 20%–30%
- 0 qualifying brands (0%)
- 30%–40%
- 0 qualifying brands (0%)
- 40%–50%
- 0 qualifying brands (0%)
- 50%–60%
- 0 qualifying brands (0%)
- 60%–70%
- 0 qualifying brands (0%)
- 70%–80%
- 3 qualifying brands (6%)
- 80%–90%
- 25 qualifying brands (50%)
- 90% and above
- 22 qualifying brands (44%)
Source Open Food Facts × FDA SAFFA × CSPI · September 2026
Portfolio shape
How scores cluster inside this brand
The brand average (93.4/100) summarizes 68 scored products. This distribution shows whether that mean sits on a tight cluster or a wide spread, a few low-scoring SKUs can matter even when the headline average looks strong.
Black Bear product score distribution
Brand average 93.4/100 across 68 scored products
93 29th percentile sits above 29% of the 68 scored products we track
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more scored products. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Distribution as text
- 50–60
- 3 scored products (4%)
- 70–80
- 5 scored products (7%)
- 80–90
- 9 scored products (13%)
- 90–100
- 5 scored products (7%)
- 100 and above
- 46 scored products (68%)
Source Open Food Facts product labels × FDA SAFFA × CSPI · September 2026
Sodium Nitrite is the flagged ingredient Black Bear uses most
Across the 68 Black Bear products scored here, Sodium Nitrite appears in 9. Only 1,491 other brands here use it (4.2%), which makes it a more particular choice than the flags that dominate the catalogue. A flag records that a named source raised a concern about an ingredient. It is not a finding that a product is unsafe to eat.
| Flagged ingredient | Black Bear products | Why it is flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Sodium Nitrite | 9 | Preservative with a recorded concern |
| Sucralose | 7 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
| Caramel Coloring | 6 | Restricted: California (Prop 65 warning for 4-MEI) |
| Acesulfame Potassium | 3 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
| BHA | 3 | Restricted: California (warning required under Prop 65) |
| BHT | 3 | Preservative with a recorded concern |
| Sodium Nitrate | 3 | Preservative with a recorded concern |
Counts are products in this database whose ingredient list names the flagged ingredient. Flags come from FDA enforcement actions, CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings and US state ingredient laws; see the methodology for how each source is applied.
Visible product sample
Label complexity does not determine the screening result
Each point is one of the 50 concern-sorted Black Bear records shown below. Horizontal position is the number of resolved ingredients on that product's stored label; vertical position is its source-derived screening score. The dashed medians (8 ingredients and 100/100) divide this displayed sample only. A longer label is not automatically worse: open a specific product to inspect its flagged rows and source coverage.
- Shown records
- 50
- Median label
- 8 ingredients
- Median score
- 100/100
The outlined point is Classico Genoa Salami, the displayed record with the most flagged ingredients (3). Bubble size represents flagged ingredient count plus one, so zero-flagged products remain visible. The score is derived from FDA SAFFA and CSPI fields; this chart does not establish recall status, dietary suitability, or a health outcome.
Read the plotted values
- Classico Genoa Salami: 12 resolved ingredients, 55/100, 3 flagged.
- Hard Salami: 12 resolved ingredients, 55/100, 3 flagged.
- Black bear, sandwich pepperoni: 12 resolved ingredients, 55/100, 3 flagged.
- Black bear, traditional italian style bacon pancetta: 8 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Black bear, traditional italian style dry cured capocollo, hot: 10 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Black bear beverages, diet soda, orchard black cherry: 7 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Beverages, Root Beer, Diet Soda: 7 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Diet lime soda: 7 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Virginia Brand Ham With Natural Juices, Virginia Brand: 18 resolved ingredients, 80/100, 2 flagged.
- Cooked Ham: 11 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Hickory Smoked Maple Ham: 16 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Traditional italian style sopressata salami: 8 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Sweet Italian Style Salami Sopressata: 8 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Sparkling Water Beverage With Juice: 21 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Sparkling Water Beverage: 21 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Beverages, peach pear: 19 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Black bear beverages, diet soda, blue raspberry: 7 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Cream soda: 6 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Black bear beverages, black cherry: 8 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Black bear beverages, old fashioned root beer soda: 6 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Dark vanilla cream soda beverages: 6 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Roast Beef: 10 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Buffalo Blue Cheese Log: 41 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Cajun style chicken sausage: 11 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear, honey cured turkey breast: 13 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear, sliced american cheese: 7 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear, sliced yellow american cheese: 8 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear, mesquite turkey breast, smoked: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear of the black forest, buffalo style chicken breast: 23 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Old Fashioned Sauerkraut: 4 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Mustard: 7 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear, provolone, sliced provolon cheese: 4 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear, crumbled blue cheese: 8 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear of the black forest, crumbled gorgonzola cheese: 8 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Crumbled feta cheese: 7 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Crumbled Goat Cheese: 7 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Sliced Muenster Cheese: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Mustard: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Blue Cheese: 7 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear of the black forest, gorgonzola cheese: 7 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Organic Cheddar Cheese: 3 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Organic Colby Jack Cheese: 5 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear of the black forest, garlic & herb cheese ball: 13 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Of The Black Forest, Port Wine Cold Pack Cheese Food: 16 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear of the black forest, cheddar cheese ball: 11 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear of the black forest, cold pack cheese food with almonds and port wine, port wine: 16 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Of The Black Forest, Garlic & Herbs Cheese Food: 12 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Of The Black Forest, Cheddar Cold Pack Cheese Food With Almonds: 11 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear, bruschetta cheese ball: 29 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black bear, swiss cheese: 4 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
Products by Black Bear
Showing 50 display-quality records, sorted by concern level (most flagged first); 74 tracked records with unusable upstream names remain in the aggregate but are not shown.
Nationwide brands with similar catalog profiles
Two PlainFoodSafe-derived peer sets for Black Bear: closest on tracked product count (124 here) and closest on average ingredient screening score (93.4/100 here). Rows stay link-disjoint so each axis is a distinct neighborhood, not a largest-catalog strip.
Similar product count
Nearest other brands by Open Food Facts product count (floored at ≥50).
Similar average screening score
Nearest other brands by average ingredient screening score (floored at ≥50 scored products), distinct from the count row.
Counts and averages from Open Food Facts labels screened against FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine; neither axis is a health outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Black Bear food safe? ▼
Black Bear has an average safety score of 93/100 across the 68 of 124 tracked products that carry an ingredient list. 32.4% of those contain flagged ingredients.
How many Black Bear products are tracked? ▼
Our database tracks 124 Black Bear products. 68 include an ingredient list and can be screened against FDA SAFFA and CSPI data; 56 cannot be scored from this snapshot.
How processed is the Black Bear catalog? ▼
Black Bear has 66 NOVA-classified products; 74.2% are ultra-processed (Group 4, 49 items) and Group 4 is the largest slice. NOVA describes processing intensity, not whether additives on a label are flagged.
Which shelves dominate the Black Bear catalog? ▼
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Black Bear concentrates in Dairies (22, 36% of this top-five); Beverages (19); Meats and their products (15); Condiments (4); Plant-based foods and beverages (1).
Does Black Bear use artificial dyes? ▼
Open the individual product pages below to see which Black Bear items list a synthetic dye on their label. For whether the company has committed to removing dyes, the FDA and CSPI both publish corporate-commitment trackers; we no longer restate those commitments here.
What to do with this Black Bear profile
Use this roll-up as orientation, then verify the specific package you hold against its ingredient panel and the named official sources.
- Start with Classico Genoa Salami, the displayed product with the most flagged ingredients (3) in this sample. Open the outlier product
- Sodium Nitrite appears in 9 scored Black Bear products, review why each source flags it before treating the brand average as uniform. Review flagged ingredient counts
- Compare Black Bear's 93.4/100 average and 32.4% flagged share against other brands before treating either figure as a recall or clearance signal. Brand safety rankings
- Cross-check any additive concern against FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine rather than relying on this derived index alone. Scoring methodology
A flagged ingredient records a source concern, not a recall, ban, or medical clearance. Always verify the current package label and consult official sources for product-specific decisions.
Citation & disclaimer notes
Brand scores aggregate ingredient-level FDA SAFFA + CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings across Open Food Facts product data. See our methodology. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFoodSafe.Disclaimer: Informational purposes only; not professional advice. A flagged ingredient is not a recall or a ban. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Every figure on PlainFoodSafe is rendered directly from OpenFoodFacts and FDA data, no number is typed in by an editor. Brand figures are computed directly from OpenFoodFacts and FDA data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2026.
