Caution

Chicago style mix caramel corn

by Spartan

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0001121308890 · Spartan · Snacks. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0001121308890 · Serving size 1.25 cup (30 g)

The verdict

Chicago style mix caramel corn by Spartan scores 75/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 35 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 1 ingredient is flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 35-component record, beginning with Caramel Corn, Brown Sugar, Corn Syrup. That density can include amounts and label fragments, so verify the physical label before relying on ingredient order or completeness. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

75/100
Caution safety score
1
One flagged · of 35 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
E
Nutri-Score nutrition grade

Computed directly from OpenFoodFacts ingredient data cross-referenced with FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. See our methodology for the scoring formula.

Composite profile score

One verdict from three independent sources

45/100

Grade D

Ingredient Safety

75/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

E

Nutri-Score front-of-pack nutrition grade

Weighted 50% ingredient safety / 25% processing level / 25% nutrition grade. A dimension with no data for this product (common: source coverage is partial) is dropped and its weight redistributes across the remaining dimensions, so missing data never silently lowers the score. See the full benchmark table.

21308890 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Chicago style mix caramel corn label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 75/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 35 ing. REG-SPARSE 29% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-SHORT Len top 14% LEAD-FLAG Yellow 6 PHOTO-FINISH Mashed potatoes · ±0 BOOK-OFF …308890 · July 2026

10 of 35 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Yellow 6). Source sheet 21308890 · Open Food Facts · July 2026. The screening score and flag counts are in the verdict band above. This desk is the provenance stamp, not a second scorecard. Methodology · Read with nearest score peer: Mashed potatoes · Nearest score peer is Mashed potatoes at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

How Nutri-Score, NOVA, and list length read this record

The composite for this product falls in the second band of the four-tier framework. That band collects labels whose registry-rated components pull the derived score down measurably without dominating it. Position inside a band is not visible from the band name, and two labels sharing it can differ in how many components were rated and how severely. This is a threshold on an index computed here from public data, not a regulatory classification of any kind; the exact cut-offs are published on the methodology page.

Nutri-Score assigned its lowest band to this label. The algorithm reserves that grade for nutrition panels where the values it penalises sit well above the components it credits. The two systems on this page measure genuinely different things: a product can hold this grade while carrying no additive flagged by the registries screened below, and a product graded well can carry several. Neither reading substitutes for the other, and the per-component table is where the additive picture is set out.

This label parsed into a long component list. Where many entries are screened at once, the composite tends to reflect the overall mix of registry ratings returned rather than the rating of any one entry. Longer declarations also carry more sub-listed and compound entries, where a parenthetical group is resolved into its parts, so the parsed count can exceed what a reader counts on the packaging.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Chicago style mix caramel corn: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Chicago style mix caramel…75/1002. Mashed potatoes: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Mashed potatoes75/1003. Reser's, Dessert, Strawberries & Cream: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Reser's, Dessert, Strawbe…75/1004. Strawberry parfait: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Strawberry parfait75/1005. Push pop gummy roll: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Push pop gummy roll75/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Chicago style mix caramel corn (75/100 on 35 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

Unit: PlainFoodSafe screening score out of 100. Data current as of July 2026.

Chicago style mix caramel corn
75/100
Mashed potatoes
75/100
Reser's, Dessert, Strawberries & Cream
75/100
Strawberry parfait
75/100
Push pop gummy roll
75/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 88,006 products we've scored in the Snacks category, the average safety score is 86.1/100. Chicago style mix caramel corn scores 11.1 points below that category average (75/100 vs. 86.1/100), so it is a comparatively weaker pick for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient-list length vs other Snacks products

Chicago style mix caramel corn lists 35 ingredients on its label

35 86th percentile a longer ingredient list than 86% of the 81,477 products we track

0–2: 275 products (0%). Below this entry. 2–4: 2,901 products (4%). Below this entry. 4–6: 4,248 products (5%). Below this entry. 6–8: 5,408 products (7%). Below this entry. 8–10: 5,486 products (7%). Below this entry. 10–12: 5,840 products (7%). Below this entry. 12–14: 6,252 products (8%). Below this entry. 14–16: 6,724 products (8%). Below this entry. 16–18: 6,221 products (8%). Below this entry. 18–20: 5,168 products (6%). Below this entry. 20–22: 4,508 products (6%). Below this entry. 22–24: 3,809 products (5%). Below this entry. 24–26: 3,567 products (4%). Below this entry. 26–28: 2,829 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 2,282 products (3%). Below this entry. 30–32: 1,905 products (2%). Below this entry. 32–34: 1,715 products (2%). Below this entry. 34–36: 1,572 products (2%). This entry sits in this band. 36–38: 1,417 products (2%). Above this entry. 38–40: 1,284 products (2%). Above this entry. 40–42: 8,066 products (10%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Snacks product, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more 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

81,477 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 35 (86th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
275 products (0%)
2–4
2,901 products (4%)
4–6
4,248 products (5%)
6–8
5,408 products (7%)
8–10
5,486 products (7%)
10–12
5,840 products (7%)
12–14
6,252 products (8%)
14–16
6,724 products (8%)
16–18
6,221 products (8%)
18–20
5,168 products (6%)
20–22
4,508 products (6%)
22–24
3,809 products (5%)
24–26
3,567 products (4%)
26–28
2,829 products (3%)
28–30
2,282 products (3%)
30–32
1,905 products (2%)
32–34
1,715 products (2%)
34–36
1,572 products (2%)
36–38
1,417 products (2%)
38–40
1,284 products (2%)
40 and above
8,066 products (10%)

Source Open Food Facts, product label ingredient lists · July 2026

Ingredient-list length is a descriptive property of the label, not a safety rating. A longer list is not automatically worse and a shorter one is not automatically better; the count is shown so the label can be placed against a comparable population. The comparison here runs against the 81,477 Snacks products we publish with a parsed label, not against the whole catalogue, because list length varies far more between categories than within one.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

How the 75/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (1 flagged of 35 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Caramel Corn
2
Brown Sugar
3
Corn Syrup
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, HUMECTANT, LEAVENING AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, TEXTURIZER
Cut Back GRAS
4
Popcorn
5
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
6
Water
7
Coconut Oil
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Listed
8
Coconut Oil
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Listed
9
Beta-carotene
ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT
Safe GRAS
10
Butter
11
Cream
12
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
13
Natural Flavor
14
Baking Soda
15
Sodium Bicarbonate
EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
GRAS
16
Artificial Butter Flavor
17
Fd&c Yellow 5 Lake
18
Cheese Popcorn
19
Pan Release
20
Corn Oil
21
Soy Lecithin
22
Color
23
Cheddar Cheese Blend
24
Cheddar Cheese
25
Pasteurized Milk
26
Culture
27
Enzymes
28
Whey
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FORMULATION AID, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
29
Buttermilk
30
Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
31
Sweet Cream
32
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
33
Disodium Phosphate
34
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
35
Annatto Extract

Full Ingredient List

Caramel corn (brown sugar, corn syrup, popcorn, sugar, water, coconut oil [pure coconut oil, beta-carotene], butter [cream, salt], contains less than 2% of natural flavor, salt, baking soda, [sodium bicarbonate], artificial butter flavor, fd&c yellow 5 lake [e102]), cheese popcorn (popcorn, pan release [corn oil, soy lecithin, beta-carotene [color], artificial butter flavor), coconut oil (pure coconut oil, beta-carotene), cheddar cheese blend (cheddar cheese [pasteurized milk, culture, salt, enzymes], whey, buttermilk, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sweet cream, salt, lactic acid, disodium phosphate, fd&c yellow 6 (e110), annatto extract), salt, artificial butter flavor, fd&c yellow 5 lake (e102).

Other products containing Pan Release

Pan Release is the least common ingredient on this label, appearing in 12 products across the catalog. See its safety profile.

Categories

Snacks

Mid-score cross-brand comparables for Chicago style mix caramel corn

Neighbours outside Spartan near Chicago style mix caramel corn's mid-band score (75/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Spartan; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Yellow 6 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Chicago style mix caramel corn's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 35-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Yellow 6. Open Yellow 6
  • Compare Chicago style mix caramel corn's 1 flagged ingredients with a product from the same score neighbourhood. Compare labels
  • Check how caution flags contribute to the derived screening score before drawing a dietary conclusion. Read the method

This page describes published ingredient-list and source coverage. It is not dietary or medical advice.

Barcode 0001121308890: product data from Open Food Facts (July 2026). Screening from FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine where attached. Figures are computed from those sources, not editor-typed. Methodology. Reference only, not dietary or medical advice.