Market Essentials
Open Food Facts brand roll-up for Market Essentials, 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
Market Essentials averages 76.1/100 across the 33 of 36 tracked products that carry an ingredient list, and 51.5% 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.
- 76.1/100
- average ingredient-screening score across 33 scored products
- 36
- tracked products in this brand roll-up
- 51.5%
- scored products with at least one flagged ingredient
- 81.8%
- 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 36 tracked products, the useful signal is the shape of the portfolio rather than one headline score. The current concern-sorted list begins Macaroni & Cheese Dinner; Sweetened Corn & Oat Cereal; Frosted Fruit O's Sweetened Multi-Grain Cereal With Fruit Flavors; 51.5% 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.
| Signal | Market Essentials | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Avg safety score | 76.1/100 | Mid-range |
| Products tracked | 36 | OpenFoodFacts US index |
| Flagged ingredients | 51.5% | FDA SAFFA + CSPI flag overlap |
What the Data Says About Market Essentials
Market Essentials: 36 products tracked, 33 with an ingredient list, avg safety score 76.1/100, 51.5% of those scored products has at least one flagged ingredient.
51.5% of the scored Market Essentials 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 Market Essentials sits 16.7 points below that fleet-wide average.
Processing mix (NOVA)
Market Essentials processing intensity
Market Essentials's NOVA-classified set is 33 products: 81.8% ultra-processed (Group 4, 27 items) with Group 4 (ultra-processed) largest at 27. That ultra-processed share sits 3.5 points above the 78.3% median for 1,323 brands with 50+ products. NOVA is processing intensity, not additive safety.
Shelf mix
Where Market Essentials shows up in Open Food Facts
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Market Essentials concentrates in Plant-based foods and beverages (10, 32% of this top-five); Snacks (10); Condiments (6); Baking-decorations (4); Breakfasts (1).
Average score by leading shelf label
| Shelf | Scored n | Avg | Flagged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snacks | 10 | 85.5/100 | 50% |
| Plant-based foods and beverages | 9 | 62.8/100 | 66.7% |
| Condiments | 6 | 99.2/100 | 16.7% |
| Baking-decorations | 4 | 50/100 | 75% |
Portfolio shape
How scores cluster inside this brand
The brand average (76.1/100) summarizes 33 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.
Market Essentials product score distribution
Brand average 76.1/100 across 33 scored products
76 30th percentile sits above 30% of the 33 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
- 3 scored products (9%)
- 20–30
- 3 scored products (9%)
- 30–40
- 1 scored products (3%)
- 60–70
- 1 scored products (3%)
- 70–80
- 4 scored products (12%)
- 80–90
- 2 scored products (6%)
- 90–100
- 3 scored products (9%)
- 100 and above
- 16 scored products (48%)
Source Open Food Facts product labels × FDA SAFFA × CSPI · September 2026
BHT is the flagged ingredient Market Essentials uses most
Across the 33 Market Essentials products scored here, BHT appears in 7. Only 742 other brands here use it (2.1%), 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 | Market Essentials products | Why it is flagged |
|---|---|---|
| BHT | 7 | Preservative with a recorded concern |
| Yellow 5 | 7 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Yellow 6 | 6 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Blue 1 | 5 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Red 40 | 5 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Caramel Coloring | 2 | Restricted: California (Prop 65 warning for 4-MEI) |
| Titanium Dioxide | 2 | Restricted: EU (banned); California (under review) |
| Polysorbate 80 | 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 33 concern-sorted Market Essentials 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 (17 ingredients and 95/100) 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
- 33
- Median label
- 17 ingredients
- Median score
- 95/100
The outlined point is Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, 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
- Macaroni & Cheese Dinner: 31 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 4 flagged.
- Sweetened Corn & Oat Cereal: 28 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 4 flagged.
- Frosted Fruit O's Sweetened Multi-Grain Cereal With Fruit Flavors: 33 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 4 flagged.
- Creamy white vanilla frosting: 27 resolved ingredients, 20/100, 4 flagged.
- Creamy Frosting: 25 resolved ingredients, 20/100, 4 flagged.
- Frosted Whole Grain Oat Cereal With Marshmallows: 27 resolved ingredients, 25/100, 3 flagged.
- Deluxe Moist Yellow Cake Mix: 31 resolved ingredients, 35/100, 3 flagged.
- Creamy Milk Chocolate Frosting: 25 resolved ingredients, 60/100, 2 flagged.
- Instant Mashed Potatoes: 26 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Shredded wheat lightly sweetened whole grain wheat cereal: 18 resolved ingredients, 75/100, 1 flagged.
- Marshmallows: 8 resolved ingredients, 75/100, 1 flagged.
- Mini Marshmallows: 8 resolved ingredients, 75/100, 1 flagged.
- White cake mix: 33 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Devil's Food Cake Mix: 30 resolved ingredients, 85/100, 1 flagged.
- Crackling cocoa crisps: 16 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Apple Juice Drink From Concentrate: 8 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Thousand Island Dressing: 25 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Worcestershire Sauce: 11 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Pizza Crust Mix: 14 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Cut Green Beans: 3 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Pasta Sauce: 13 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Regular Potato Chips: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Wavy Potato Chips: 19 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Blue Corn Tortilla Chips: 6 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Sweetened flakes of corn cereal: 18 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal: 17 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Deluxe Fudge Brownie Mix: 13 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Distilled White Vinegar: 2 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Ranch Dressing: 21 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Zesty Italian Dressing: 16 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Marshmallow Creme: 8 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Real Semisweet Chocolate Baking Chips: 7 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- 100% Pure Honey: 1 resolved ingredient, 100/100, 0 flagged.
Products by Market Essentials
Showing 36 display-quality records, sorted by concern level (most flagged first).
Nationwide brands with similar catalog profiles
Two PlainFoodSafe-derived peer sets for Market Essentials: closest on tracked product count (36 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 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 Market Essentials food safe? ▼
Market Essentials has an average safety score of 76/100 across the 33 of 36 tracked products that carry an ingredient list. 51.5% of those contain flagged ingredients.
How many Market Essentials products are tracked? ▼
Our database tracks 36 Market Essentials products. 33 include an ingredient list and can be screened against FDA SAFFA and CSPI data; 3 cannot be scored from this snapshot.
How processed is the Market Essentials catalog? ▼
Market Essentials has 33 NOVA-classified products; 81.8% are ultra-processed (Group 4, 27 items) and Group 4 is the largest slice. NOVA describes processing intensity, not whether additives on a label are flagged.
Which shelves dominate the Market Essentials catalog? ▼
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Market Essentials concentrates in Plant-based foods and beverages (10, 32% of this top-five); Snacks (10); Condiments (6); Baking-decorations (4); Breakfasts (1).
Does Market Essentials use artificial dyes? ▼
Open the individual product pages below to see which Market Essentials 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 Market Essentials 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 Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, the displayed product with the most flagged ingredients (4) in this sample. Open the outlier product
- BHT appears in 7 scored Market Essentials products, review why each source flags it before treating the brand average as uniform. Review flagged ingredient counts
- Compare Market Essentials's 76.1/100 average and 51.5% 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.
