Hero
Open Food Facts brand roll-up for Hero, 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
Hero averages 99.3/100 across the 20 of 41 tracked products that carry an ingredient list, and 5.0% 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.
- 99.3/100
- average ingredient-screening score across 20 scored products
- 41
- tracked products in this brand roll-up
- 5.0%
- scored products with at least one flagged ingredient
- 85%
- 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 41 tracked products, the useful signal is the shape of the portfolio rather than one headline score. The current concern-sorted list begins Orange Marmalade; Pear Nectar; Pear nectar; 5.0% of records contain at least one flagged ingredient while the overall mean is 99.3/100. 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 20 of 41 tracked Hero records (48.8%) include an ingredient list. The remaining 21 cannot be screened, so the 99.3/100 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 Hero
Hero: 41 products tracked, 20 with an ingredient list, avg safety score 99.3/100, 5.0% of those scored products has at least one flagged ingredient.
Because ingredient lists cover only 48.8% 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 →
Processing mix (NOVA)
Hero processing intensity
Hero's NOVA-classified set is 20 products: 85% ultra-processed (Group 4, 17 items) with Group 4 (ultra-processed) largest at 17. That ultra-processed share sits 6.7 points above the 78.3% median for 1,323 brands with 50+ products. NOVA is processing intensity, not additive safety.
Portfolio shape
How scores cluster inside this brand
The brand average (99.3/100) summarizes 20 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.
Hero product score distribution
Brand average 99.3/100 across 20 scored products
99 5th percentile sits above 5% of the 20 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
- 80–90
- 1 scored products (5%)
- 100 and above
- 19 scored products (95%)
Source Open Food Facts product labels × FDA SAFFA × CSPI · September 2026
Sucralose is the flagged ingredient Hero uses most
Across the 20 Hero products scored here, Sucralose appears in 1. Only 1,692 other brands here use it (4.8%), 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 | Hero products | Why it is flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Sucralose | 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 20 concern-sorted Hero 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 (8.5 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
- 20
- Median label
- 8.5 ingredients
- Median score
- 100/100
The outlined point is Orange Marmalade, the displayed record with the most flagged ingredients (1). 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
- Orange Marmalade: 12 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Pear Nectar: 4 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Pear nectar: 4 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Nectar apricot: 3 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Apricot Fruit Spread: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Strawberry Fruit Spread: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Blueberry fruit spread: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Confiture de framboise: 5 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Black Cherry Fruit Spread: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Bitter Orange Fruit Spread: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Seedless fruit spread, red raspberry: 5 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Flour Tortillas: 21 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Hero Classic Burger Buns: 22 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Classic Hot Dog Buns: 18 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Hero Classic Plain Bagels: 18 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Hero Everything Bagel: 20 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Cosmic Blue Razz: 11 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- HERO CLASSIC WHITE BREAD: 16 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Classic Burger Buns: 18 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- HERO SEEDED BREAD: 24 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
Products by Hero
Showing 41 display-quality records, sorted by concern level (most flagged first).
Nationwide brands with similar catalog profiles
Two PlainFoodSafe-derived peer sets for Hero: closest on tracked product count (41 here) and closest on average ingredient screening score (99.3/100 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 Hero food safe? ▼
Hero has an average safety score of 99/100 across the 20 of 41 tracked products that carry an ingredient list. 5.0% of those contain flagged ingredients.
How many Hero products are tracked? ▼
Our database tracks 41 Hero products. 20 include an ingredient list and can be screened against FDA SAFFA and CSPI data; 21 cannot be scored from this snapshot.
How processed is the Hero catalog? ▼
Hero has 20 NOVA-classified products; 85% are ultra-processed (Group 4, 17 items) and Group 4 is the largest slice. NOVA describes processing intensity, not whether additives on a label are flagged.
Does Hero use artificial dyes? ▼
Open the individual product pages below to see which Hero 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 Hero 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 Orange Marmalade, the displayed product with the most flagged ingredients (1) in this sample. Open the outlier product
- Sucralose appears in 1 scored Hero products, review why each source flags it before treating the brand average as uniform. Review flagged ingredient counts
- Compare Hero's 99.3/100 average and 5.0% 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.
