Chef Merito
Open Food Facts brand roll-up for Chef Merito, 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
Chef Merito averages 75.0/100 across the 18 of 22 tracked products that carry an ingredient list, and 61.1% 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.
- 75.0/100
- average ingredient-screening score across 18 scored products
- 22
- tracked products in this brand roll-up
- 61.1%
- scored products with at least one flagged ingredient
- 88.2%
- 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
Look for consistency across the range
The catalog shows a small but varied range led by Adobo para Carne al Pastor; Chef merito, adobo para birria; Chef merito, adobo, marinade for ribs. Across 22 tracked products, the mean is 75.0/100 and 61.1% carry a separately flagged ingredient. That is enough to compare formulations inside this captured range, but not enough to assume every current package matches. Start with the lowest-scoring product rows and confirm the ingredient panel when a specific additive matters.
| Signal | Chef Merito | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Avg safety score | 75.0/100 | Mid-range |
| Products tracked | 22 | OpenFoodFacts US index |
| Flagged ingredients | 61.1% | FDA SAFFA + CSPI flag overlap |
What the Data Says About Chef Merito
Chef Merito: 22 products tracked, 18 with an ingredient list, avg safety score 75.0/100, 61.1% of those scored products has at least one flagged ingredient.
61.1% of the scored Chef Merito products contain at least one separately flagged ingredient. That distribution is the primary finding; the average does not make those affected formulations "mostly safe." Scoring methodology + dye-pledge context →
Across the 894,137 products we index overall, the average safety score is 92.8/100, and Chef Merito sits 17.8 points below that fleet-wide average.
Processing mix (NOVA)
Chef Merito processing intensity
Chef Merito's NOVA-classified set is 17 products: 88.2% ultra-processed (Group 4, 15 items) with Group 4 (ultra-processed) largest at 15. That ultra-processed share sits 9.9 points above the 78.3% median for 1,323 brands with 50+ products. NOVA is processing intensity, not additive safety.
Shelf mix
Where Chef Merito shows up in Open Food Facts
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Chef Merito concentrates in Condiments (14, 93% of this top-five); Plant-based foods and beverages (1).
- Condiments 14
- Plant-based foods and beverages 1
Portfolio shape
How scores cluster inside this brand
The brand average (75.0/100) summarizes 18 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.
Chef Merito product score distribution
Brand average 75.0/100 across 18 scored products
75 47th percentile sits above 47% of the 18 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
- 20–30
- 1 scored products (6%)
- 50–60
- 5 scored products (28%)
- 70–80
- 5 scored products (28%)
- 100 and above
- 7 scored products (39%)
Source Open Food Facts product labels × FDA SAFFA × CSPI · September 2026
Chef Merito relies most on Yellow 6, an industry staple
Across the 18 Chef Merito products scored here, Yellow 6 appears in 9. It is used by 1,766 other brands in this database (5.0% 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 | Chef Merito products | Why it is flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow 6 | 9 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Yellow 5 | 8 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
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 18 concern-sorted Chef Merito 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 (15 ingredients and 75/100) 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
- 18
- Median label
- 15 ingredients
- Median score
- 75/100
The outlined point is Adobo para Carne al Pastor, 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
- Adobo para Carne al Pastor: 32 resolved ingredients, 25/100, 3 flagged.
- Chef merito, adobo para birria: 39 resolved ingredients, 50/100, 2 flagged.
- Chef merito, adobo, marinade for ribs: 33 resolved ingredients, 50/100, 2 flagged.
- Chef merito, fajitas marinade: 35 resolved ingredients, 50/100, 2 flagged.
- Marinade chicken: 30 resolved ingredients, 50/100, 2 flagged.
- Chef merito, meat marinade: 31 resolved ingredients, 50/100, 2 flagged.
- Chef merito, marinade for adobada: 18 resolved ingredients, 75/100, 1 flagged.
- Steak & Meat Seasoning: 15 resolved ingredients, 75/100, 1 flagged.
- Chicken Seasoning: 14 resolved ingredients, 75/100, 1 flagged.
- Chicken seasoning: 15 resolved ingredients, 75/100, 1 flagged.
- Chef merito, seasoned tenderizer: 14 resolved ingredients, 75/100, 1 flagged.
- Achhiote Yucateco Yucatan Style Achiote: 9 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Adobo Tamales Verdes: 16 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Steak & Meat Seasoning: 10 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Chef merito, granulated garlic powder: 3 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Garlic Salt: 7 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Chef merito, fish seasoning: 10 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Achiote condimentado: 9 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
Products by Chef Merito
Showing 22 display-quality records, sorted by concern level (most flagged first).
Nationwide brands with similar catalog profiles
Two PlainFoodSafe-derived peer sets for Chef Merito: closest on tracked product count (22 here) and closest on average ingredient screening score (75/100 here). Rows stay link-disjoint so each axis is a distinct neighborhood, not a largest-catalog strip.
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 Chef Merito food safe? ▼
Chef Merito has an average safety score of 75/100 across the 18 of 22 tracked products that carry an ingredient list. 61.1% of those contain flagged ingredients.
How many Chef Merito products are tracked? ▼
Our database tracks 22 Chef Merito products. 18 include an ingredient list and can be screened against FDA SAFFA and CSPI data; 4 cannot be scored from this snapshot.
How processed is the Chef Merito catalog? ▼
Chef Merito has 17 NOVA-classified products; 88.2% are ultra-processed (Group 4, 15 items) and Group 4 is the largest slice. NOVA describes processing intensity, not whether additives on a label are flagged.
Which shelves dominate the Chef Merito catalog? ▼
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Chef Merito concentrates in Condiments (14, 93% of this top-five); Plant-based foods and beverages (1).
Does Chef Merito use artificial dyes? ▼
Open the individual product pages below to see which Chef Merito 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 Chef Merito 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 Adobo para Carne al Pastor, the displayed product with the most flagged ingredients (3) in this sample. Open the outlier product
- Yellow 6 appears in 9 scored Chef Merito products, review why each source flags it before treating the brand average as uniform. Review flagged ingredient counts
- Compare Chef Merito's 75.0/100 average and 61.1% 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.
