Carnation
Open Food Facts brand roll-up for Carnation, 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
Carnation averages 94.4/100 across the 26 of 57 tracked products that carry an ingredient list, and 76.9% 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.
- 94.4/100
- average ingredient-screening score across 26 scored products
- 57
- tracked products in this brand roll-up
- 76.9%
- scored products with at least one flagged ingredient
- 92.3%
- 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 57 tracked products, the useful signal is the shape of the portfolio rather than one headline score. The current concern-sorted list begins Fruit & Protein Smoothie; Carnation instant breakfast no sugar added chocolate; Evaporated Milk / Leche Evaporada; 76.9% of records contain at least one flagged ingredient while the overall mean is 94.4/100. 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 26 of 57 tracked Carnation records (45.6%) include an ingredient list. The remaining 31 cannot be screened, so the 94.4/100 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 Carnation
Carnation: 57 products tracked, 26 with an ingredient list, avg safety score 94.4/100, 76.9% of those scored products has at least one flagged ingredient.
Because ingredient lists cover only 45.6% 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 →
Processing mix (NOVA)
Carnation processing intensity
Carnation's NOVA-classified set is 26 products: 92.3% ultra-processed (Group 4, 24 items) with Group 4 (ultra-processed) largest at 24. That ultra-processed share sits 14 points above the 78.3% median for 1,323 brands with 50+ products. NOVA is processing intensity, not additive safety.
Shelf mix
Where Carnation shows up in Open Food Facts
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Carnation concentrates in Beverages (12, 57% of this top-five); Dairies (4); Beverages and beverages preparations (3); Dietary supplements (1); Meals (1).
Average score by leading shelf label
| Shelf | Scored n | Avg | Flagged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beverages | 12 | 94.6/100 | 83.3% |
| Dairies | 4 | 97.5/100 | 50% |
| Beverages and beverages preparations | 3 | 96.7/100 | 66.7% |
Portfolio shape
How scores cluster inside this brand
The brand average (94.4/100) summarizes 26 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.
Carnation product score distribution
Brand average 94.4/100 across 26 scored products
94 42nd percentile sits above 42% of the 26 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
- 60–70
- 1 scored products (4%)
- 80–90
- 1 scored products (4%)
- 90–100
- 18 scored products (69%)
- 100 and above
- 6 scored products (23%)
Source Open Food Facts product labels × FDA SAFFA × CSPI · September 2026
Carnation relies most on Carrageenan, an industry staple
Across the 26 Carnation products scored here, Carrageenan appears in 20. It is used by 2,390 other brands in this database (6.8% of them), so its presence says more about the category than about this brand. 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 | Carnation products | Why it is flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Carrageenan | 20 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
| Sucralose | 2 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
| Acesulfame Potassium | 1 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
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 26 concern-sorted Carnation 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 (31.5 ingredients and 95/100) 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
- 26
- Median label
- 31.5 ingredients
- Median score
- 95/100
The outlined point is Fruit & Protein Smoothie, 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
- Fruit & Protein Smoothie: 21 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Carnation instant breakfast no sugar added chocolate: 32 resolved ingredients, 80/100, 2 flagged.
- Evaporated Milk / Leche Evaporada: 5 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Breakfast essentials packets: 33 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Rich milk chocolate instant breakfast packets in box: 9 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Chocolate high protein complete nutritional drink: 24 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- BREAKFAST ESSENTIALS Nutritional Powder Drink Mix Rich Milk Chocolate: 31 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Breakfast Essentials High Protein Rich Milk Chocolate: 41 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Coronation breakfast, essentials, high protein, vanilla: 52 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- High protein ready to drink: 47 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- BREAKFAST ESSENTIALS Classic French Vanilla Nutritional Drink: 47 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Readytodrink: 47 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Breakfast essentials Creamy Strawberry: 52 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Carnation instant breakfast essentials strawberry count box: 33 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- BREAKFAST ESSENTIALS: 37 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- High Protein Complete Nutritional Drink: 23 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Coronation instant breakfast drink strawberry high protein: 35 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Carnation Breakfast Essentials: 42 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Evaporated Milk: 5 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Breakfast Essentials: 12 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Evaporated Fat Free Milk: 4 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- BREAKFAST ESSENTIALS RICH MILK CHOCOLATE NUTRITIONAL POWDER DRINK MIX: 26 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Classic french vanilla: 29 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- High protein rich milk chocolate breakfast drink: 32 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Breakfast essentials: 31 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Nonfat Dry milk: 3 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
Products by Carnation
Showing 50 display-quality records, sorted by concern level (most flagged first); 7 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 Carnation: closest on tracked product count (57 here) and closest on average ingredient screening score (94.4/100 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 Carnation food safe? ▼
Carnation has an average safety score of 94/100 across the 26 of 57 tracked products that carry an ingredient list. 76.9% of those contain flagged ingredients.
How many Carnation products are tracked? ▼
Our database tracks 57 Carnation products. 26 include an ingredient list and can be screened against FDA SAFFA and CSPI data; 31 cannot be scored from this snapshot.
How processed is the Carnation catalog? ▼
Carnation has 26 NOVA-classified products; 92.3% are ultra-processed (Group 4, 24 items) and Group 4 is the largest slice. NOVA describes processing intensity, not whether additives on a label are flagged.
Which shelves dominate the Carnation catalog? ▼
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Carnation concentrates in Beverages (12, 57% of this top-five); Dairies (4); Beverages and beverages preparations (3); Dietary supplements (1); Meals (1).
Does Carnation use artificial dyes? ▼
Open the individual product pages below to see which Carnation 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 Carnation 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 Fruit & Protein Smoothie, the displayed product with the most flagged ingredients (3) in this sample. Open the outlier product
- Carrageenan appears in 20 scored Carnation products, review why each source flags it before treating the brand average as uniform. Review flagged ingredient counts
- Compare Carnation's 94.4/100 average and 76.9% 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.
