Nerds
Open Food Facts brand roll-up for Nerds, 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
Nerds averages 19.5/100 across the 46 of 102 tracked products that carry an ingredient list, and 91.3% 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.
- 19.5/100
- average ingredient-screening score across 46 scored products
- 102
- tracked products in this brand roll-up
- 91.3%
- scored products with at least one flagged ingredient
- 100%
- 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 102 tracked products, the useful signal is the shape of the portfolio rather than one headline score. The current concern-sorted list begins Gummy Clusters; Nerds Gummy Clusters; Nerds Rainbow; 91.3% of records contain at least one flagged ingredient while the overall mean is 19.5/100. 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 46 of 102 tracked Nerds records (45.1%) include an ingredient list. The remaining 56 cannot be screened, so the 19.5/100 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 Nerds
Nerds: 102 products tracked, 46 with an ingredient list, avg safety score 19.5/100, 91.3% of those scored products has at least one flagged ingredient.
Because ingredient lists cover only 45.1% 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)
Nerds processing intensity
Nerds's NOVA-classified set is 46 products: 100% ultra-processed (Group 4, 46 items) with Group 4 (ultra-processed) largest at 46. That ultra-processed share sits 21.7 points above the 78.3% median for 1,323 brands with 50+ products. NOVA is processing intensity, not additive safety.
- G1
- 0
- G2
- 0
- G3
- 0
- G4 ultra
- 46 (100%)
Shelf mix
Where Nerds shows up in Open Food Facts
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Nerds concentrates in Snacks (42, 95% of this top-five); Drink-mix (1); Gummy-candies (1).
- Snacks 42
- Drink-mix 1
- Gummy-candies 1
Portfolio shape
How scores cluster inside this brand
The brand average (19.5/100) summarizes 46 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.
Nerds product score distribution
Brand average 19.5/100 across 46 scored products
20 63rd percentile sits above 63% of the 46 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 (59%)
- 10–20
- 4 scored products (9%)
- 20–30
- 4 scored products (9%)
- 30–40
- 3 scored products (7%)
- 50–60
- 2 scored products (4%)
- 70–80
- 2 scored products (4%)
- 100 and above
- 4 scored products (9%)
Source Open Food Facts product labels × FDA SAFFA × CSPI · September 2026
Nerds relies most on Red 40, an industry staple
Across the 46 Nerds products scored here, Red 40 appears in 42. 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 | Nerds products | Why it is flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Red 40 | 42 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Blue 1 | 31 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Yellow 5 | 29 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Blue 2 | 25 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Yellow 6 | 17 | 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 46 concern-sorted Nerds 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 (18 ingredients and 0/100) 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
- 46
- Median label
- 18 ingredients
- Median score
- 0/100
The outlined point is Gummy Clusters, the displayed record with the most flagged ingredients (8). 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
- Gummy Clusters: 24 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 8 flagged.
- Nerds Gummy Clusters: 24 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 8 flagged.
- Nerds Rainbow: 25 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 8 flagged.
- Gummy Clusters Candy, Gummy Clusters: 23 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 8 flagged.
- Gummy Clusters: 29 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 8 flagged.
- Nerds Gummy Clusters: 23 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 7 flagged.
- Nerds gummy clusters: 26 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 7 flagged.
- Gummy Clusters Very Berry: 21 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 7 flagged.
- Gummy Clusters: 28 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 7 flagged.
- Nerds Gummy Clusters: 23 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 6 flagged.
- Nerds Gummy Clusters Very Berry Family Sized: 23 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 6 flagged.
- Very Berry Flavor Candy Rope, Very Berry: 19 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 6 flagged.
- Nerds, bumpy jelly beans candy: 16 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 6 flagged.
- Grape, Lemon, Strawberry, Orange Jellybeans Big Chewy Candy, Grape, Lemon, Strawberry, Orange: 16 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 5 flagged.
- Nerds Candy: 22 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 5 flagged.
- Nerds Gummy Clusters: 22 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 5 flagged.
- Gummy Clusters: 21 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 5 flagged.
- Gummy Clusters: 18 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 5 flagged.
- Juicy Clusters: 19 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 5 flagged.
- Nerds big chewy crunchy and chewy candy: 16 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 5 flagged.
- Big chewy candy: 16 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 5 flagged.
- Nerds Big Chewy: 16 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 5 flagged.
- Hoppin' Candy: 11 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 4 flagged.
- Nerds gummy clusters peg bag: 20 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 4 flagged.
- Gummy Clusters: 15 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 4 flagged.
- Nerds Gummy Clusters: 18 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 4 flagged.
- Nerds Juicy Gummy Clusters: 20 resolved ingredients, 0/100, 4 flagged.
- Nerds Rope Very Berry 26g: 10 resolved ingredients, 10/100, 4 flagged.
- Nerds gummy clusters: 25 resolved ingredients, 10/100, 4 flagged.
- Gummy Clusters Grape Strawberry Blitz: 20 resolved ingredients, 10/100, 4 flagged.
- Needs Gummy Clusters: 21 resolved ingredients, 10/100, 4 flagged.
- Nerds Gummy Clusters: 19 resolved ingredients, 25/100, 3 flagged.
- Gummy clustereds: 17 resolved ingredients, 25/100, 3 flagged.
- Nerds Gummy Clusters PEG Punch - 5oz: 18 resolved ingredients, 25/100, 3 flagged.
- Nerds, candy, so verry cherry, what-a-melon: 10 resolved ingredients, 25/100, 3 flagged.
- Nerds, candy, seriously straterry: 10 resolved ingredients, 35/100, 3 flagged.
- Seriously Strawberry, Gotta-Have Grape Tiny, Tangy Crunchy Candy, Seriously Strawberry, Gotta-Have Grape: 11 resolved ingredients, 35/100, 3 flagged.
- Nerds Candy: 11 resolved ingredients, 35/100, 3 flagged.
- Dark Side Cherry Rope Candy, Dark Side Cherry: 14 resolved ingredients, 50/100, 2 flagged.
- Dark Side Cherry Rope Candy, Dark Side Cherry: 14 resolved ingredients, 50/100, 2 flagged.
- Strawberry And Punch Flavor Valentine Candy, Strawberry And Punch: 8 resolved ingredients, 75/100, 1 flagged.
- Valentine& day exchange candy & card kit: 8 resolved ingredients, 75/100, 1 flagged.
- NeRds: 11 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Wild About Nerds What-a-Melon So Very Cherry: 5 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Nerds candy: 7 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
- Nerds Gummy Candy Clusters made wi NATURAL COLOURS: 17 resolved ingredients, 100/100, 0 flagged.
Products by Nerds
Showing 50 display-quality records, sorted by concern level (most flagged first); 52 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 Nerds: closest on tracked product count (102 here) and closest on average ingredient screening score (19.5/100 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 Nerds food safe? ▼
Nerds has an average safety score of 20/100 across the 46 of 102 tracked products that carry an ingredient list. 91.3% of those contain flagged ingredients.
How many Nerds products are tracked? ▼
Our database tracks 102 Nerds products. 46 include an ingredient list and can be screened against FDA SAFFA and CSPI data; 56 cannot be scored from this snapshot.
How processed is the Nerds catalog? ▼
Nerds has 46 NOVA-classified products; 100% are ultra-processed (Group 4, 46 items) and Group 4 is the largest slice. NOVA describes processing intensity, not whether additives on a label are flagged.
Which shelves dominate the Nerds catalog? ▼
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Nerds concentrates in Snacks (42, 95% of this top-five); Drink-mix (1); Gummy-candies (1).
Does Nerds use artificial dyes? ▼
Open the individual product pages below to see which Nerds 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 Nerds 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 Gummy Clusters, the displayed product with the most flagged ingredients (8) in this sample. Open the outlier product
- Red 40 appears in 42 scored Nerds products, review why each source flags it before treating the brand average as uniform. Review flagged ingredient counts
- Compare Nerds's 19.5/100 average and 91.3% 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.
