Betaine
Betaine carries a source-backed screening score of 3/5 and appears in 14 indexed US food products.
Source-backed answer
Betaine appears in 14 catalogued products. CSPI has no rating attached in this snapshot. Its FDA SAFFA status is “Listed.” Those source labels describe the ingredient; they do not establish whether a particular product, dose, allergy, or diet is safe.
- 14
- catalogued products
- #12,010
- usage rank of 248,027
- 6
- named brands represented
- 51%
- average depth down ingredient lists
Catalog prevalence comes from Open Food Facts ingredient lists. FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine labels are shown only when the source record contains them.
3/5 from FDA SAFFA + CSPI Chemical Cuisine
Where Betaine sits among catalogued ingredients
- Usage rank
- #12,010
- of 248,027 ingredients that appear in at least one catalogued product, tied with 644 others that also appear in exactly 14 products.
- Typical depth in an ingredient list
- 51%
- Of the way down the captured list, averaged across the 14 products listing it (mean slot 15.4). Betaine usually falls in the lower half of the list; this position does not measure its amount because source formatting, compound ingredients and labeling exceptions vary.
Derived by this site from the ingredient lists of every catalogued product (Open Food Facts), recomputed on each data refresh. 248,027 ingredients have at least one appearance and are ranked here. Usage and list position describe prevalence, not safety.
How to use this page
Audit the co-occurring flags first
50% of the linked products contain at least one separately flagged ingredient, making co-occurrence the dominant follow-up question. That figure does not identify Betaine as the trigger. Open records such as Amino K.e.m.; excuviance; First Spray Serum and inspect which ingredient row carries the caution marker. The 85.7/100 product average is therefore a triage signal for this surrounding formulation set, not an ingredient verdict. Its 51% average label depth helps locate the term when checking the package.
Processing is unusually concentrated here: Group 4 accounts for 14 of 14 NOVA-tagged records. That describes the surrounding products, not the substance. For a useful comparison, hold category and processing level constant, then inspect which named component changes alongside the caution flag; otherwise the product mix will confound the ingredient question.
Next check: open the lowest-scoring linked formulation and locate the exact caution-marked component.
Function
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
Safety Profile at a Glance
| Source | Classification | Year |
|---|---|---|
| FDA SAFFA | Listed | 2024 |
| CSPI Chemical Cuisine | Not rated | 2024 |
| PlainFoodSafe Score | 3/5 | 2026 |
| Product footprint | 14 products | OpenFoodFacts |
FDA SAFFA database, CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings, OpenFoodFacts product index. See methodology.
Products Containing Betaine
A sample of 14 of the 14 indexed products containing Betaine, with each product's overall safety score.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Betaine safe to eat? ▼
Betaine has a PlainFoodSafe ingredient-screening score of 3/5. FDA SAFFA status: Listed. These labels are not a product-, dose-, allergy-, or person-specific safety determination.
What products contain Betaine? ▼
Betaine is found in 14 products in our database, spanning various food categories and brands.
What does Betaine do in food? ▼
Betaine is used as a flavoring agent or adjuvant in food products.
Citation notes
Regulatory status from FDA SAFFA; safety ratings from CSPI Chemical Cuisine; product presence from Open Food Facts. See our methodology. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFoodSafe.Every figure on PlainFoodSafe is rendered directly from OpenFoodFacts and FDA data, no number is typed in by an editor. Ingredient figures are computed directly from OpenFoodFacts, FDA SAFFA, and CSPI Chemical Cuisine 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 August 2026.
