Pepsi
Open Food Facts brand roll-up for Pepsi, 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
Pepsi averages 84.7/100 across the 124 of 280 tracked products that carry an ingredient list, and 87.1% 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.
- 84.7/100
- average ingredient-screening score across 124 scored products
- 280
- tracked products in this brand roll-up
- 87.1%
- scored products with at least one flagged ingredient
- 97.5%
- 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 280 tracked products, the useful signal is the shape of the portfolio rather than one headline score. The current concern-sorted list begins Diet Mountain Dew; Charged berry blast flavored sparkling juice beverage from concentrate, charged berry blast; Diet Pepsi Cola 12 Fluid Ounce Aluminum Can; 87.1% of records contain at least one flagged ingredient while the overall mean is 84.7/100. 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 124 of 280 tracked Pepsi records (44.3%) include an ingredient list. The remaining 156 cannot be screened, so the 84.7/100 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 Pepsi
Pepsi: 280 products tracked, 124 with an ingredient list, avg safety score 84.7/100, 87.1% of those scored products has at least one flagged ingredient.
Because ingredient lists cover only 44.3% 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), Pepsi's 87.1% flagged share is 69.1 points above that cohort median.
Processing mix (NOVA)
Pepsi processing intensity
Pepsi's NOVA-classified set is 120 products: 97.5% ultra-processed (Group 4, 117 items) with Group 4 (ultra-processed) largest at 117. That ultra-processed share sits 19.2 points above the 78.3% median for 1,323 brands with 50+ products. NOVA is processing intensity, not additive safety.
Shelf mix
Where Pepsi shows up in Open Food Facts
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Pepsi concentrates in Beverages and beverages preparations (75, 63% of this top-five); Beverages (45).
Average score by leading shelf label
| Shelf | Scored n | Avg | Flagged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beverages and beverages preparations | 70 | 84.9/100 | 91.4% |
| Beverages | 30 | 82.7/100 | 86.7% |
Cohort context
Flagged-ingredient share among large brands
Pepsi's 87.1% flagged share is measured across 124 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.
Pepsi flagged share vs large-brand cohort
87.1% of scored products carry at least one flagged ingredient
87% 42nd percentile is at or above the flagged share of 42% 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 (84.7/100) summarizes 124 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.
Pepsi product score distribution
Brand average 84.7/100 across 124 scored products
85 36th percentile sits above 36% of the 124 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
- 30–40
- 1 scored products (1%)
- 40–50
- 1 scored products (1%)
- 60–70
- 33 scored products (27%)
- 70–80
- 7 scored products (6%)
- 80–90
- 6 scored products (5%)
- 90–100
- 60 scored products (48%)
- 100 and above
- 16 scored products (13%)
Source Open Food Facts product labels × FDA SAFFA × CSPI · September 2026
Pepsi relies most on Caramel Coloring, an industry staple
Across the 124 Pepsi products scored here, Caramel Coloring appears in 100. It is used by 3,551 other brands in this database (10.1% 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 | Pepsi products | Why it is flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Caramel Coloring | 100 | Restricted: California (Prop 65 warning for 4-MEI) |
| Acesulfame Potassium | 39 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
| Aspartame | 31 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
| Sucralose | 15 | Concern recorded by a review body; no ban cited |
| Yellow 5 | 2 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Blue 1 | 1 | FDA voluntary phase-out target 2027-12-31 (a request, not a ban) · Restricted: California (schools) |
| Brominated Vegetable Oil | 1 | FDA ban effective 2024-07-01 · Restricted: Federal (FDA revoked) |
| Red 40 | 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 50 concern-sorted Pepsi 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 (10 ingredients and 65/100) 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
- 10 ingredients
- Median score
- 65/100
The outlined point is Diet Mountain Dew, 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
- Diet Mountain Dew: 16 resolved ingredients, 35/100, 3 flagged.
- Charged berry blast flavored sparkling juice beverage from concentrate, charged berry blast: 25 resolved ingredients, 45/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi Cola 12 Fluid Ounce Aluminum Can: 10 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi Cola 8 Fluid Ounce Aluminum Can: 10 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry 12 Fluid Ounce Aluminum Can: 12 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry 2 Liter Plastic Bottle: 12 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi Cola Caffeine Free 12 Fluid Ounce Aluminum Can: 9 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi Caffeine Free Cola 2 Liter Plastic Bottle: 9 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry (6-24Z) 96 Fluid Ounce Plastic Bottles: 12 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry Cola 20 Fluid Ounce Plastic Bottle: 12 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi Cola (6 - 24 Fluid Ounce) 144 Fluid Ounce 6 Pack Plastic Bottles: 10 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi Caffeine Free Cola (6 - 24 Fluid Ounce) 144 Fluid Ounce 6 Pack Plastic Bottle: 9 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- ZERO SUGAR: 11 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Zero sugar soda: 14 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Zero sugar cola: 12 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Pepsi Next 12 Fl Oz Can: 13 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Pepsi Zero Sugar Wild Cherry: 11 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- ZERO SUGAR WILD CHERRY: 11 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Wild Cherry Zero Sugar Cola, Wild Cherry: 11 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi: 9 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi: 12 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi: 10 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Pepsi diet cola soda: 9 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet pepsi soda: 8 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet caffeine free: 9 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Wild cherry soda: 13 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Pepsi Zero Sugar: 12 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Zero Sugar Wild Cherry & Cream: 10 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi Cola (6 - 16.9 Fluid Ounce) 101.4 Fluid Ounce 6 Pack Plastic Bottles: 10 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi Cola 16 Fluid Ounce Plastic Bottle: 10 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- DIET PEPSI: 11 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet cola: 10 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi: 10 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Diet pepsi caffeine free: 8 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- DIET WILD CHERRY: 11 resolved ingredients, 65/100, 3 flagged.
- Sierra Mist zero sugar lemon lime soda: 9 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Diet Pepsi: 16 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Diet: 9 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Pepsi Zero Sugar Wild Cherry & Cream: 13 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- brisk: 16 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Pepsi max can: 14 resolved ingredients, 70/100, 2 flagged.
- Pepsi Zero Sugar: 10 resolved ingredients, 80/100, 2 flagged.
- Diet soda: 10 resolved ingredients, 80/100, 2 flagged.
- DIET PEPSI: 12 resolved ingredients, 80/100, 2 flagged.
- Diet pepsi soda: 9 resolved ingredients, 80/100, 2 flagged.
- Zero Sugar Pepsi: 10 resolved ingredients, 80/100, 2 flagged.
- Zero sugar mango: 9 resolved ingredients, 80/100, 2 flagged.
- Mountain dew made with real sugar: 14 resolved ingredients, 75/100, 1 flagged.
- Cola: 8 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
- Pepsi Cola: 8 resolved ingredients, 95/100, 1 flagged.
Products by Pepsi
Showing 50 display-quality records, sorted by concern level (most flagged first); 230 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 Pepsi: closest on tracked product count (280 here) and closest on average ingredient screening score (84.7/100 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 Pepsi food safe? ▼
Pepsi has an average safety score of 85/100 across the 124 of 280 tracked products that carry an ingredient list. 87.1% of those contain flagged ingredients.
How many Pepsi products are tracked? ▼
Our database tracks 280 Pepsi products. 124 include an ingredient list and can be screened against FDA SAFFA and CSPI data; 156 cannot be scored from this snapshot.
How processed is the Pepsi catalog? ▼
Pepsi has 120 NOVA-classified products; 97.5% are ultra-processed (Group 4, 117 items) and Group 4 is the largest slice. NOVA describes processing intensity, not whether additives on a label are flagged.
Which shelves dominate the Pepsi catalog? ▼
In Open Food Facts shelf labels, Pepsi concentrates in Beverages and beverages preparations (75, 63% of this top-five); Beverages (45).
Does Pepsi use artificial dyes? ▼
Open the individual product pages below to see which Pepsi 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 Pepsi 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 Diet Mountain Dew, the displayed product with the most flagged ingredients (3) in this sample. Open the outlier product
- Caramel Coloring appears in 100 scored Pepsi products, review why each source flags it before treating the brand average as uniform. Review flagged ingredient counts
- Compare Pepsi's 84.7/100 average and 87.1% 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.
