BHA
PlainFoodSafe flags BHA as a preservative concern. CSPI Chemical Cuisine rates it “Avoid.” It appears in 2,913 indexed US food products.
Source-backed answer
BHA appears in 2,913 catalogued products. CSPI rates it “Avoid.” Its FDA SAFFA status is “GRAS.” Those source labels describe the ingredient; they do not establish whether a particular product, dose, allergy, or diet is safe.
- 2,913
- catalogued products
- #312
- usage rank of 247,206
- 561
- named brands represented
- 75%
- 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.
High-volume listing for BHA - usage rank #312
- Usage rank
- #312
- of 247,206 ingredients that appear in at least one catalogued product, listed in more products than 99.9% of them.
- Typical depth in an ingredient list
- 75%
- Of the way down the captured list, averaged across the 2,915 products listing it (mean slot 26.8). BHA 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.
Ranks use Open Food Facts ingredient rows on this site’s refresh cycle. 247,206 ingredients with ≥1 product appearance enter the ranking. Prevalence and list depth are catalog facts, not toxicology.
How common is BHA vs other flagged additives?
Number of indexed products containing each of the most common flagged additives - BHA highlighted.
What this page can and cannot answer
Audit the co-occurring flags first
100% of the linked products contain at least one separately flagged ingredient, making co-occurrence the dominant follow-up question. That figure does not identify BHA as the trigger. Open records such as 1 slice hard salami 2 slices mild cheddar cheese; 1/2 Cheese Pizza & 1/2 Pepperoni Pizza; 10” Chocolate Cake Filled with Chocolate Mousse and inspect which ingredient row carries the caution marker. The 56.7/100 product average is therefore a triage signal for this surrounding formulation set, not an ingredient verdict. Its 75% average label depth helps locate the term when checking the package.
100% of linked products contain a separately flagged ingredient
Processing is unusually concentrated here: Group 4 accounts for 2819 of 2894 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.
What else is usually in the same product as BHA
Across the 2,913 products on this site that list BHA, these flagged additives appear alongside it most often. The comparison column is how often each one appears across every product with a parsed ingredient list, so the two figures are measured over the same set. BHT shows up about 62x more often with BHA than in the catalogue at large.
| Additive | Shared products | Share of BHA products | Share of all products |
|---|---|---|---|
| BHT | 1,986 | 68.2% | 1.1% |
| Sodium Nitrite | 1,468 | 50.4% | 2.4% |
| Propyl Gallate | 525 | 18% | 0.2% |
| Caramel Coloring | 430 | 14.8% | 5.7% |
| Yellow 5 | 159 | 5.5% | 4.8% |
Co-occurrence describes what manufacturers formulate together. It is not a claim that these additives interact, and it carries no regulatory meaning. Counted over products with parsed ingredient lists; Open Food Facts, 2026-09-01.
Safety Concerns
Preservative concern
How do the sampled products compare?
Each point is one of the 16 sampled products listed below: its overall safety score against how many separately flagged ingredients its label carries. Bubble size is the number of ingredient rows the label actually resolved to.
Safety score vs. flagged-ingredient count for products containing BHA
Products Containing BHA
16 busy labels from the 2,913 indexed products that list BHA:
High-volume peers for BHA beside “Lecithin”
High-volume peers for BHA: 2,913 products, mean screening score 56.7/100. Comparable product-count neighbours: Lecithin · Dried Red Bell Peppers · Safflower Oil. Axes below stay distinct so count-neighbors do not duplicate score-neighbors.
Similar product count
Nearest other ingredients by Open Food Facts product count (floored at ≥50).
Similar mean product score
Mean product-score neighbours (≥50 scored products), kept separate from the product-count peers above.
Using the BHA evidence
Start from BHA's 2,913 catalogued appearances and the attached source fields, then open the product rows that match your use case.
- Check the listed products containing BHA before treating the aggregate count as a personal conclusion. See listed products
- Move to a second ingredient page and compare registry fields plus catalog mass side by side. Compare a peer
- Check the methodology for how FDA SAFFA, CSPI, and Open Food Facts rows are joined on this site. Read the methodology
This page describes published source classifications and product-label coverage. It is not dietary, allergy, or medical advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I read safety signals when BHA sits in heavily flagged products? ▼
100% of linked products contain at least one separately flagged ingredient, so the first task is locating which row carries the caution marker — not assuming BHA is the trigger. Where a source rating exists, BHA scores 2/5 on this site's screening scale and CSPI lists it as "Avoid" with FDA SAFFA status "GRAS". None of that replaces a product-, dose-, allergy-, or person-specific determination.
Which product shelves show up most often with BHA? ▼
BHA ranks in the top decile by product count (#312 of 247,206), appearing in 2,913 indexed products led by Meals. The sample list below is a slice of that footprint, not the full universe.
Why is BHA so common on ingredient lists? ▼
The source record does not name a technical effect, yet BHA appears in 2,913 products (#312 usage rank). High prevalence here describes formulation frequency, not an approved use level.
Regulatory status: FDA SAFFA (BHA). Safety ratings: CSPI Chemical Cuisine; product presence: Open Food Facts via PlainFoodSafe (September 2026). Figures are computed from those sources, no editor-typed counts. Methodology · State regulations.