Lunch Buddies
Open Food Facts brand roll-up for Lunch Buddies, 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
Lunch Buddies averages 94.5/100 across the 19 of 33 tracked products that carry an ingredient list, and 10.5% 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.
- 94.5/100
- average ingredient-screening score across 19 scored products
- 33
- tracked products in this brand roll-up
- 10.5%
- scored products with at least one flagged ingredient
- 40%
- 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 33 tracked products, the useful signal is the shape of the portfolio rather than one headline score. The current concern-sorted list begins Strawberry & Orange Gel Snacks; Dinos And Sharks Fruit Flavored Snacks, Strawberry, Orange, Grape, Lemon, Lime; dole; 10.5% of records contain at least one flagged ingredient while the overall mean is 94.5/100. 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 19 of 33 tracked Lunch Buddies records (57.6%) include an ingredient list. The remaining 14 cannot be screened, so the 94.5/100 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 Lunch Buddies
Lunch Buddies: 33 products tracked, 19 with an ingredient list, avg safety score 94.5/100, 10.5% of those scored products has at least one flagged ingredient.
Because ingredient lists cover only 57.6% 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)
Lunch Buddies processing intensity
Lunch Buddies's NOVA-classified set is 15 products: 40% ultra-processed (Group 4, 6 items) with Group 1 (unprocessed / minimally processed) largest at 7. That ultra-processed share sits 38.3 points below the 78.3% median for 1,323 brands with 50+ products. NOVA is processing intensity, not additive safety.
Shelf mix
Where Lunch Buddies shows up in Open Food Facts
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Lunch Buddies concentrates in Plant-based foods and beverages (10, 63% of this top-five); Fruit-puree (3); Desserts (1); Fruit-pouch (1); Snacks (1).
Average score by leading shelf label
| Shelf | Scored n | Avg | Flagged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plant-based foods and beverages | 6 | 100/100 | 0% |
| Fruit-puree | 3 | 100/100 | 0% |
Portfolio shape
How scores cluster inside this brand
The brand average (94.5/100) summarizes 19 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.
Lunch Buddies product score distribution
Brand average 94.5/100 across 19 scored products
95 11th percentile sits above 11% of the 19 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
- 40–50
- 1 scored products (5%)
- 50–60
- 1 scored products (5%)
- 100 and above
- 17 scored products (89%)
Source Open Food Facts product labels × FDA SAFFA × CSPI · September 2026
Lunch Buddies relies most on Blue 1, an industry staple
Across the 19 Lunch Buddies products scored here, Blue 1 appears in 1. It is used by 1,963 other brands in this database (5.6% 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 | Lunch Buddies products | Why it is flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Blue 1 | 1 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Carrageenan | 1 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
| Red 40 | 1 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Yellow 5 | 1 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Yellow 6 | 1 | 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 19 concern-sorted Lunch Buddies 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 (6 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
- 19
- Median label
- 6 ingredients
- Median score
- 100/100
The outlined point is Strawberry & Orange Gel Snacks, 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
- Strawberry & Orange Gel Snacks: 12 resolved ingredients, 45/100, 3 flagged.
- Dinos And Sharks Fruit Flavored Snacks, Strawberry, Orange, Grape, Lemon, Lime: 16 resolved ingredients, 50/100, 2 flagged.
- dole: 9 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Fruit Snacks: 19 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Fruit flavored snacks: 13 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Diced Pears: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Pineapple Tidbits: 7 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Pineapple Tidbits: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Squeezable Apple No Sugar Added: 1 resolved ingredient, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Squeezable Apple Fruit Blend: 3 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Squeezable Apple Cinnamon: 4 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Squeezable Apple Cinnamon Fruit Blend: 5 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Squeezable Apple Variety Pack: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Squeezable Apple Variety Pack: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Applesauce Cups: 5 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Vanilla pudding cups: 1 resolved ingredient, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Strawberry Applesauce: 10 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Cinnamon Applesauce: 5 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Applesauce: 5 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
Products by Lunch Buddies
Showing 33 display-quality records, sorted by concern level (most flagged first).
Nationwide brands with similar catalog profiles
Two PlainFoodSafe-derived peer sets for Lunch Buddies: closest on tracked product count (33 here) and closest on average ingredient screening score (94.5/100 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 Lunch Buddies food safe? ▼
Lunch Buddies has an average safety score of 95/100 across the 19 of 33 tracked products that carry an ingredient list. 10.5% of those contain flagged ingredients.
How many Lunch Buddies products are tracked? ▼
Our database tracks 33 Lunch Buddies products. 19 include an ingredient list and can be screened against FDA SAFFA and CSPI data; 14 cannot be scored from this snapshot.
How processed is the Lunch Buddies catalog? ▼
Lunch Buddies has 15 NOVA-classified products; 40% are ultra-processed (Group 4, 6 items) and Group 1 is the largest slice. NOVA describes processing intensity, not whether additives on a label are flagged.
Which shelves dominate the Lunch Buddies catalog? ▼
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Lunch Buddies concentrates in Plant-based foods and beverages (10, 63% of this top-five); Fruit-puree (3); Desserts (1); Fruit-pouch (1); Snacks (1).
Does Lunch Buddies use artificial dyes? ▼
Open the individual product pages below to see which Lunch Buddies 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 Lunch Buddies 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 Strawberry & Orange Gel Snacks, the displayed product with the most flagged ingredients (3) in this sample. Open the outlier product
- Blue 1 appears in 1 scored Lunch Buddies products, review why each source flags it before treating the brand average as uniform. Review flagged ingredient counts
- Compare Lunch Buddies's 94.5/100 average and 10.5% 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.
