Ensure
Open Food Facts brand roll-up for Ensure, 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
Ensure averages 76.1/100 across the 35 of 71 tracked products that carry an ingredient list, and 74.3% 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.
- 76.1/100
- average ingredient-screening score across 35 scored products
- 71
- tracked products in this brand roll-up
- 74.3%
- scored products with at least one flagged ingredient
- 97.1%
- 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 71 tracked products, the useful signal is the shape of the portfolio rather than one headline score. The current concern-sorted list begins Nutrition Drink, Blueberry Pomegranate; Nutrition Drink, Peach; Strawberry Chill Rapid Hydration Electrolyte Powder Packets, Strawberry Chill; 74.3% of records contain at least one flagged ingredient while the overall mean is 76.1/100. 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 35 of 71 tracked Ensure records (49.3%) include an ingredient list. The remaining 36 cannot be screened, so the 76.1/100 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 Ensure
Ensure: 71 products tracked, 35 with an ingredient list, avg safety score 76.1/100, 74.3% of those scored products has at least one flagged ingredient.
Because ingredient lists cover only 49.3% 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)
Ensure processing intensity
Ensure's NOVA-classified set is 34 products: 97.1% ultra-processed (Group 4, 33 items) with Group 4 (ultra-processed) largest at 33. That ultra-processed share sits 18.8 points above the 78.3% median for 1,323 brands with 50+ products. NOVA is processing intensity, not additive safety.
Shelf mix
Where Ensure shows up in Open Food Facts
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Ensure concentrates in Dietary supplements (11, 42% of this top-five); Beverages and beverages preparations (9); Meals (4); Beverages (1); Dairies (1).
Average score by leading shelf label
| Shelf | Scored n | Avg | Flagged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dietary supplements | 10 | 71.5/100 | 90% |
| Beverages and beverages preparations | 9 | 71.1/100 | 66.7% |
| Meals | 4 | 87.5/100 | 50% |
Portfolio shape
How scores cluster inside this brand
The brand average (76.1/100) summarizes 35 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.
Ensure product score distribution
Brand average 76.1/100 across 35 scored products
76 39th percentile sits above 39% of the 35 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
- 3 scored products (9%)
- 40–50
- 2 scored products (6%)
- 60–70
- 6 scored products (17%)
- 70–80
- 5 scored products (14%)
- 80–90
- 6 scored products (17%)
- 90–100
- 4 scored products (11%)
- 100 and above
- 9 scored products (26%)
Source Open Food Facts product labels × FDA SAFFA × CSPI · September 2026
Acesulfame Potassium is the flagged ingredient Ensure uses most
Across the 35 Ensure products scored here, Acesulfame Potassium appears in 19. Only 929 other brands here use it (2.6%), 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 | Ensure products | Why it is flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Acesulfame Potassium | 19 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
| Sucralose | 17 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
| Carrageenan | 15 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
| Red 40 | 4 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Blue 1 | 2 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Caramel Coloring | 1 | Restricted: California (Prop 65 warning for 4-MEI) |
| Red 3 | 1 | FDA ban effective 2027-01-15 · Restricted: California (AB 418; effective 2027-01-01); Federal (FDA; effective 2027-01-15) |
| Titanium Dioxide | 1 | Restricted: EU (banned); California (under review) |
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 35 concern-sorted Ensure 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 (36 ingredients and 80/100) 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
- 35
- Median label
- 36 ingredients
- Median score
- 80/100
The outlined point is Nutrition Drink, Blueberry Pomegranate, the displayed record with the most flagged ingredients (4). 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
- Nutrition Drink, Blueberry Pomegranate: 27 resolved ingredients, 20/100, 4 flagged.
- Nutrition Drink, Peach: 31 resolved ingredients, 20/100, 4 flagged.
- Strawberry Chill Rapid Hydration Electrolyte Powder Packets, Strawberry Chill: 12 resolved ingredients, 20/100, 4 flagged.
- Original nutrition shake: 50 resolved ingredients, 45/100, 3 flagged.
- Ensure Clear nutrition drink: 26 resolved ingredients, 45/100, 3 flagged.
- Ensure Original nutrition shake: 19 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Ensure Max Protein nutrition shake MILK CHOCOLATE: 41 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Butter Pecan Original Nutrition Shake, Butter Pecan: 19 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Max Protein Nutrition Shake Milk Chocolate: 15 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Max Protein: 39 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Max protein nutrition shake milk chocolate: 41 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Original nutrition shake: 47 resolved ingredients, 75/100, 3 flagged.
- Ensure, High Protein Powder, Milk Chocolate, Milk Chocolate: 20 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Ensure, High Protein Powder, Vanilla, Vanilla: 19 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Vanilla Cupcake, Vanilla: 48 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Ensure Complete nutrition shake: 49 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- High Protein nutrition shake: 39 resolved ingredients, 80/100, 2 flagged.
- Protein Shake cafe Mocha: 37 resolved ingredients, 80/100, 2 flagged.
- Ensure Max Protein nutrition shake: 36 resolved ingredients, 80/100, 2 flagged.
- Max Protein Nutrition Shake: 40 resolved ingredients, 80/100, 2 flagged.
- Ensure High Protein nutrition shake: 36 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Ensure Max Protein nutrition shake Creamy Strawberry: 36 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Ensure Plus nutrition shake Milk Chocolate: 45 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Advanced Nutrition Shake, Strawberry: 48 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Ensure Original nutrition shake: 41 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Ensure Original nutrition shake: 36 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Vanilla Advanced Nutrition Shake, Vanilla: 47 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Ensure Clear: 29 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Ensure Max Protein nutrition shake French Vanilla: 3 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Max Protein nutrition shake: 2 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- PLANT-BASED PROTEIN nutrition shake: 40 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Max Protein: 9 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Ensure Original nutrition shake (Milk Chocolate): 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Original: 3 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Plus nutritional shake: 42 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
Products by Ensure
Showing 50 display-quality records, sorted by concern level (most flagged first); 21 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 Ensure: closest on tracked product count (71 here) and closest on average ingredient screening score (76.1/100 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 Ensure food safe? ▼
Ensure has an average safety score of 76/100 across the 35 of 71 tracked products that carry an ingredient list. 74.3% of those contain flagged ingredients.
How many Ensure products are tracked? ▼
Our database tracks 71 Ensure products. 35 include an ingredient list and can be screened against FDA SAFFA and CSPI data; 36 cannot be scored from this snapshot.
How processed is the Ensure catalog? ▼
Ensure has 34 NOVA-classified products; 97.1% are ultra-processed (Group 4, 33 items) and Group 4 is the largest slice. NOVA describes processing intensity, not whether additives on a label are flagged.
Which shelves dominate the Ensure catalog? ▼
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Ensure concentrates in Dietary supplements (11, 42% of this top-five); Beverages and beverages preparations (9); Meals (4); Beverages (1); Dairies (1).
Does Ensure use artificial dyes? ▼
Open the individual product pages below to see which Ensure 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 Ensure 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 Nutrition Drink, Blueberry Pomegranate, the displayed product with the most flagged ingredients (4) in this sample. Open the outlier product
- Acesulfame Potassium appears in 19 scored Ensure products, review why each source flags it before treating the brand average as uniform. Review flagged ingredient counts
- Compare Ensure's 76.1/100 average and 74.3% 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.
