Little Debbie
Open Food Facts brand roll-up for Little Debbie, 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
Little Debbie averages 70.7/100 across the 178 of 277 tracked products that carry an ingredient list, and 57.3% 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.
- 70.7/100
- average ingredient-screening score across 178 scored products
- 277
- tracked products in this brand roll-up
- 57.3%
- scored products with at least one flagged ingredient
- 95.5%
- 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 277 tracked products, the useful signal is the shape of the portfolio rather than one headline score. The current concern-sorted list begins Oreo Cookies; Star Crunch; Cosmic Brownies; 57.3% of records contain at least one flagged ingredient while the overall mean is 70.7/100. 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 178 of 277 tracked Little Debbie records (64.3%) include an ingredient list. The remaining 99 cannot be screened, so the 70.7/100 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 Little Debbie
Little Debbie: 277 products tracked, 178 with an ingredient list, avg safety score 70.7/100, 57.3% of those scored products has at least one flagged ingredient.
Because ingredient lists cover only 64.3% 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 →
Among the 804 brands with 50+ products (the typical brand in that group flags 18% of its catalog), Little Debbie's 57.3% flagged share is 39.3 points above that cohort median.
Processing mix (NOVA)
Little Debbie processing intensity
Little Debbie's NOVA-classified set is 178 products: 95.5% ultra-processed (Group 4, 170 items) with Group 4 (ultra-processed) largest at 170. That ultra-processed share sits 17.2 points above the 78.3% median for 1,323 brands with 50+ products. NOVA is processing intensity, not additive safety.
Shelf mix
Where Little Debbie shows up in Open Food Facts
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Little Debbie concentrates in Snacks (82, 96% of this top-five); Sweet pies (2); Desserts (1).
- Snacks 82
- Sweet pies 2
- Desserts 1
Cohort context
Flagged-ingredient share among large brands
Little Debbie's 57.3% flagged share is measured across 178 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.
Little Debbie flagged share vs large-brand cohort
57.3% of scored products carry at least one flagged ingredient
57% 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 (70.7/100) summarizes 178 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.
Little Debbie product score distribution
Brand average 70.7/100 across 178 scored products
71 36th percentile sits above 36% of the 178 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
- 0–10
- 27 scored products (15%)
- 10–20
- 1 scored products (1%)
- 20–30
- 6 scored products (3%)
- 30–40
- 5 scored products (3%)
- 40–50
- 5 scored products (3%)
- 50–60
- 11 scored products (6%)
- 60–70
- 4 scored products (2%)
- 70–80
- 11 scored products (6%)
- 80–90
- 20 scored products (11%)
- 90–100
- 12 scored products (7%)
- 100 and above
- 76 scored products (43%)
Source Open Food Facts product labels × FDA SAFFA × CSPI · September 2026
Little Debbie relies most on Red 40, an industry staple
Across the 178 Little Debbie products scored here, Red 40 appears in 57. It is used by 2,397 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 | Little Debbie products | Why it is flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Red 40 | 57 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Titanium Dioxide | 50 | Restricted: EU (banned); California (under review) |
| Yellow 5 | 44 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Blue 1 | 38 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Polysorbate 80 | 38 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
| Caramel Coloring | 33 | Restricted: California (Prop 65 warning for 4-MEI) |
| Yellow 6 | 17 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Blue 2 | 15 | 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 50 concern-sorted Little Debbie 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 (44 ingredients and 5/100) 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
- 44 ingredients
- Median score
- 5/100
The outlined point is Oreo Cookies, the displayed record with the most flagged ingredients (9). 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
- Oreo Cookies: 75 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 9 flagged.
- Star Crunch: 76 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 9 flagged.
- Cosmic Brownies: 52 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 8 flagged.
- Cosmic Brownies with Chocolate Chip Candy: 52 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 8 flagged.
- Fall Tree Cakes: 59 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 8 flagged.
- Cosmic cupcakes: 68 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 8 flagged.
- Sparkling Strawberry Unicorn Cakes, Sparkling Strawberry: 43 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 8 flagged.
- Unicorn Cakes Sparkling Strawberry: 43 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 8 flagged.
- Cosmic Brownie with Chocolate Chip Candy: 52 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 8 flagged.
- Christmas Tree Brownies: 48 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 7 flagged.
- Red, White and Blue Brownies: 49 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 7 flagged.
- Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Creme Pies: 55 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 7 flagged.
- Iced Brownies: 46 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 6 flagged.
- Fudge Rounds: 44 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 6 flagged.
- SPRING Butterfly Cakes: 38 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 6 flagged.
- Birthday cakes: 50 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 6 flagged.
- Birthday Cake Creme Pies: 41 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 6 flagged.
- Gingerbread Man: 40 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 6 flagged.
- Fudge Round: 44 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 6 flagged.
- Red, White and Blue Gingerbread Soft Cookies: 47 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 5 flagged.
- Easter Basket Cakes: 46 resolved ingredients, 5/100, 5 flagged.
- Christmas Tree Cakes: 42 resolved ingredients, 5/100, 5 flagged.
- Easter Basket Cakes: 44 resolved ingredients, 5/100, 5 flagged.
- Christmas Tree Cakes: 42 resolved ingredients, 5/100, 5 flagged.
- Little debbie, christmas tree cakes, red velvet: 50 resolved ingredients, 5/100, 5 flagged.
- Christmas Tree Cakes: 42 resolved ingredients, 5/100, 5 flagged.
- Oatmeal Creme Pies: 62 resolved ingredients, 35/100, 5 flagged.
- Cosmic Mini Muffins: 43 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 4 flagged.
- Mini Frosted Donuts: 49 resolved ingredients, 10/100, 4 flagged.
- Fall Party Cakes Creme Filled: 46 resolved ingredients, 20/100, 4 flagged.
- Caramel apple oatmeal creme pies sandwich cookies, caramel apple: 41 resolved ingredients, 20/100, 4 flagged.
- Iced Llama Brownies, Iced: 36 resolved ingredients, 20/100, 4 flagged.
- Danish pastries: 70 resolved ingredients, 30/100, 4 flagged.
- Little Deb snack cakes: 36 resolved ingredients, 30/100, 4 flagged.
- Fall Party Cake: 45 resolved ingredients, 30/100, 4 flagged.
- Oatmeal Creme Pie: 58 resolved ingredients, 40/100, 4 flagged.
- Double Decker Oatmeal Creme Pie: 58 resolved ingredients, 40/100, 4 flagged.
- Fudge round: 39 resolved ingredients, 50/100, 4 flagged.
- Christmas Marshmallow Treats: 26 resolved ingredients, 25/100, 3 flagged.
- Swiss Rolls: 37 resolved ingredients, 25/100, 3 flagged.
- Swiss Rolls: 37 resolved ingredients, 25/100, 3 flagged.
- Frosted Donuts: 46 resolved ingredients, 35/100, 3 flagged.
- Fall Party Cakes: 44 resolved ingredients, 45/100, 3 flagged.
- Christmas Tree Cakes: 51 resolved ingredients, 45/100, 3 flagged.
- Swiss Rolls: 27 resolved ingredients, 45/100, 3 flagged.
- Valentine Cakes: 42 resolved ingredients, 55/100, 3 flagged.
- Fudge Round: 35 resolved ingredients, 55/100, 3 flagged.
- Little debbie, pudding rolls, banana: 41 resolved ingredients, 55/100, 3 flagged.
- Mother's Day Cakes Lemon: 37 resolved ingredients, 55/100, 3 flagged.
- Snowflake Brownies: 36 resolved ingredients, 55/100, 3 flagged.
Products by Little Debbie
Showing 50 display-quality records, sorted by concern level (most flagged first); 227 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 Little Debbie: closest on tracked product count (277 here) and closest on average ingredient screening score (70.7/100 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 Little Debbie food safe? ▼
Little Debbie has an average safety score of 71/100 across the 178 of 277 tracked products that carry an ingredient list. 57.3% of those contain flagged ingredients.
How many Little Debbie products are tracked? ▼
Our database tracks 277 Little Debbie products. 178 include an ingredient list and can be screened against FDA SAFFA and CSPI data; 99 cannot be scored from this snapshot.
How processed is the Little Debbie catalog? ▼
Little Debbie has 178 NOVA-classified products; 95.5% are ultra-processed (Group 4, 170 items) and Group 4 is the largest slice. NOVA describes processing intensity, not whether additives on a label are flagged.
Which shelves dominate the Little Debbie catalog? ▼
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Little Debbie concentrates in Snacks (82, 96% of this top-five); Sweet pies (2); Desserts (1).
Does Little Debbie use artificial dyes? ▼
Open the individual product pages below to see which Little Debbie 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 Little Debbie 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 Oreo Cookies, the displayed product with the most flagged ingredients (9) in this sample. Open the outlier product
- Red 40 appears in 57 scored Little Debbie products, review why each source flags it before treating the brand average as uniform. Review flagged ingredient counts
- Compare Little Debbie's 70.7/100 average and 57.3% 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.
