Caution

Potato Salad

by Giant Eagle

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0003003403832 · Giant Eagle · Meals. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0003003403832 · Serving size 0.5 cup (140 g)

The verdict

Potato Salad by Giant Eagle scores 70/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 37 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 2 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 37-component record, beginning with Potatoes, Salad Dressing, Soybean Oil. 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.

70/100
Caution safety score
2
Few flagged · of 37 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
C
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

53/100

Grade C-

Ingredient Safety

70/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

C

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.

03403832 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Potato Salad label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 70/100 FLAG-FEW 2 flagged LEN-DENSE 37 ing. REG-PART 35% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-C Nutri-C RANK-MID Len top 33% LEAD-FLAG Polysorbate 80 PHOTO-FINISH Stuffing Mix · ±0 BOOK-OFF …403832 · July 2026

13 of 37 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Polysorbate 80). Source sheet 03403832 · 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: Stuffing Mix · Nearest score peer is Stuffing Mix 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 settled on its middle grade here, the band the algorithm produces when the penalty and credit sides of its nutrient ledger come out close to balanced. A mid-scale grade is a statement about the panel as a whole rather than about any single nutrient, and products arrive at it by very different routes: a moderate profile across every term, or high marks on some offset by heavy penalties on others. The grade is computed separately from the ingredient screen below and the two are not comparable measures.

The declared list is among the longer ones in this catalogue. A component set this wide means the screen returns many individual ratings, and the composite accumulates a large number of small contributions instead of turning on a handful of entries. At this length the per-component table below is substantially more informative than the single figure, because the figure compresses a great deal of variation into one number.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Potato Salad: 70/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Potato Salad70/1002. Stuffing Mix: 70/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Stuffing Mix70/1003. Jello oragne gelatin dessert mix boxes: 70/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Jello oragne gelatin dess…70/1004. Shockin' Blue Raspberry: 70/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Shockin' Blue Raspberry70/1005. Temptations Mousse Snacks, Dark Chocolate Decadence: 70/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Temptations Mousse Snacks…70/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Potato Salad (70/100 on 37 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

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

Potato Salad
70/100
Stuffing Mix
70/100
Jello oragne gelatin dessert mix boxes
70/100
Shockin' Blue Raspberry
70/100
Temptations Mousse Snacks, Dark Chocolate Decadence
70/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 15,626 products we've scored in the Meals category, the average safety score is 93.6/100. Potato Salad scores 23.6 points below that category average (70/100 vs. 93.6/100), 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 Meals products

Potato Salad lists 37 ingredients on its label

37 67th percentile a longer ingredient list than 67% of the 11,283 products we track

0–2: 12 products (0%). Below this entry. 2–4: 83 products (1%). Below this entry. 4–6: 127 products (1%). Below this entry. 6–8: 209 products (2%). Below this entry. 8–10: 312 products (3%). Below this entry. 10–12: 315 products (3%). Below this entry. 12–14: 412 products (4%). Below this entry. 14–16: 477 products (4%). Below this entry. 16–18: 542 products (5%). Below this entry. 18–20: 552 products (5%). Below this entry. 20–22: 545 products (5%). Below this entry. 22–24: 550 products (5%). Below this entry. 24–26: 552 products (5%). Below this entry. 26–28: 552 products (5%). Below this entry. 28–30: 574 products (5%). Below this entry. 30–32: 517 products (5%). Below this entry. 32–34: 466 products (4%). Below this entry. 34–36: 451 products (4%). Below this entry. 36–38: 443 products (4%). This entry sits in this band. 38–40: 388 products (3%). Above this entry. 40–42: 3,204 products (28%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Meals 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

11,283 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 37 (67th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
12 products (0%)
2–4
83 products (1%)
4–6
127 products (1%)
6–8
209 products (2%)
8–10
312 products (3%)
10–12
315 products (3%)
12–14
412 products (4%)
14–16
477 products (4%)
16–18
542 products (5%)
18–20
552 products (5%)
20–22
545 products (5%)
22–24
550 products (5%)
24–26
552 products (5%)
26–28
552 products (5%)
28–30
574 products (5%)
30–32
517 products (5%)
32–34
466 products (4%)
34–36
451 products (4%)
36–38
443 products (4%)
38–40
388 products (3%)
40 and above
3,204 products (28%)

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 11,283 Meals 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 70/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (2 flagged of 37 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Potatoes
2
Salad Dressing
3
Soybean Oil
4
Water
5
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
6
Egg Yolks
7
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
8
White Distilled Vinegar
9
Sea salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
10
Potato Starch
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
11
Lemon Juice Fruit And Vegetable Juice
12
Color
13
Xanthan Gum
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FORMULATION AID, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Approved
14
Fructose
Sweetener
Cut Back
15
Sweet Relish
16
Pickles
17
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
18
Distilled Vinegar
19
Red Peppers
20
Natural Flavors
21
Calcium Chloride
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, ENZYME, FIRMING AGENT, FREEZING OR COOLING AGENT, DIRECT CONTACT, FUMIGANT, HUMECTANT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING
GRAS
22
Polysorbate 80
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Caution Approved
23
Sodium Benzoate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FUMIGANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
24
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
25
Celery
26
Mustard
27
Mustard Seed
28
Turmeric
29
Spices
30
Eggs
31
Organic Onions
32
Dried Red Bell Peppers
33
Citric Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, ENZYME, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SEQUESTRANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Safe GRAS
34
Potassium Sorbate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT
Safe GRAS
35
Preservative
36
Granulated Onion
37
Spice

Full Ingredient List

Potatoes, salad dressing (soybean oil, water, sugar, egg yolks [egg yolks, salt], white distilled vinegar, sea salt, modified potato starch, lemon juice fruit and vegetable juice [color], xanthan gum), water, sugar, fructose, sweet relish (pickles, corn syrup, distilled vinegar, water, salt, red peppers, xanthan gum, natural flavors, calcium chloride, polysorbate 80, sodium benzoate, yellow 5), celery, white distilled vinegar, mustard (distilled vinegar, mustard seed, salt, turmeric,spices), eggs, onions, red bell peppers (red bell peppers, water, citric acid), potassium sorbate (preservative), salt, granulated onion, xanthan gum, spice.

Categories

Meals Prepared salads Potato dishes Potato salads Salads Salted-snacks

Mid-score cross-brand comparables for Potato Salad

Neighbours outside Giant Eagle near Potato Salad's mid-band score (70/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Giant Eagle; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Polysorbate 80 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Potato Salad's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 37-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Polysorbate 80. Open Polysorbate 80
  • Compare Potato Salad's 2 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 0003003403832: 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.