Caution

Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal

by Cream Of Wheat

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0013130060257 · Cream Of Wheat · Plant-based foods and beverages. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0013130060257 · Serving size 1 serving (61 g)

The verdict

Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal by Cream Of Wheat scores 85/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 21 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 1 ingredient is flagged for caution. The 21-component label is layered, beginning with Wheat Farina, Calcium Carbonate, Salt. Start with any flagged rows, then check the nutrition grade and serving size instead of treating one roll-up score as the whole decision. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

85/100
Caution safety score
1
One flagged · of 21 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

60/100

Grade C+

Ingredient Safety

85/100

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.

30060257 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 85/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-LAYERED 21 ing. REG-PART 38% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-C Nutri-C RANK-MID Len top 21% LEAD-FLAG BHT PHOTO-FINISH Hickory Smoked Ham · ±0 BOOK-OFF …060257 · July 2026

8 of 21 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: BHT). Source sheet 30060257 · 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: Hickory Smoked Ham Steak · Nearest score peer is Hickory Smoked Ham Steak 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.

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. Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Cream of Wheat Instant Or…85/1002. Hickory Smoked Ham Steak: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Hickory Smoked Ham Steak85/1003. Bratwurst mushroom & swiss cheese: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Bratwurst mushroom & swis…85/1004. Snack Sticks With Hot Wing Seasoning: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Snack Sticks With Hot Win…85/1005. Little town jelly venison peg bag: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Little town jelly venison…85/100
High-band neighbours for Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal (85/100) outside Cream Of Wheat.
Chart values as text

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

Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal
85/100
Hickory Smoked Ham Steak
85/100
Bratwurst mushroom & swiss cheese
85/100
Snack Sticks With Hot Wing Seasoning
85/100
Little town jelly venison peg bag
85/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 78,450 products we've scored in the Plant-based foods and beverages category, the average safety score is 97.7/100. Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal scores 12.7 points below that category average (85/100 vs. 97.7/100), 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 Plant-based foods and beverages products

Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal lists 21 ingredients on its label

21 79th percentile a longer ingredient list than 79% of the 63,434 products we track

0–2: 3,907 products (6%). Below this entry. 2–4: 7,921 products (12%). Below this entry. 4–6: 8,845 products (14%). Below this entry. 6–8: 7,032 products (11%). Below this entry. 8–10: 6,320 products (10%). Below this entry. 10–12: 4,190 products (7%). Below this entry. 12–14: 3,449 products (5%). Below this entry. 14–16: 3,051 products (5%). Below this entry. 16–18: 2,493 products (4%). Below this entry. 18–20: 2,053 products (3%). Below this entry. 20–22: 1,808 products (3%). This entry sits in this band. 22–24: 1,758 products (3%). Above this entry. 24–26: 1,623 products (3%). Above this entry. 26–28: 1,606 products (3%). Above this entry. 28–30: 1,360 products (2%). Above this entry. 30–32: 1,198 products (2%). Above this entry. 32–34: 1,081 products (2%). Above this entry. 34–36: 901 products (1%). Above this entry. 36–38: 649 products (1%). Above this entry. 38–40: 534 products (1%). Above this entry. 40–42: 1,655 products (3%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Plant-based foods and beverages 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

63,434 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 21 (79th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
3,907 products (6%)
2–4
7,921 products (12%)
4–6
8,845 products (14%)
6–8
7,032 products (11%)
8–10
6,320 products (10%)
10–12
4,190 products (7%)
12–14
3,449 products (5%)
14–16
3,051 products (5%)
16–18
2,493 products (4%)
18–20
2,053 products (3%)
20–22
1,808 products (3%)
22–24
1,758 products (3%)
24–26
1,623 products (3%)
26–28
1,606 products (3%)
28–30
1,360 products (2%)
30–32
1,198 products (2%)
32–34
1,081 products (2%)
34–36
901 products (1%)
36–38
649 products (1%)
38–40
534 products (1%)
40 and above
1,655 products (3%)

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 63,434 Plant-based foods and beverages products we publish with a parsed label, not against the whole catalogue, because list length varies far more between categories than within one.

Full Ingredient List

WHEAT FARINA, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SALT, DEFATTED WHEAT GERM, GUAR GUM, NATURAL FLAVOR, FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE (IRON), NIACINAMIDE (VITAMIN B3), THIAMINE MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), BHT (TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID, CHOLECALCIFEROL (VITAMIN D3). CONTAINS WHEAT

Categories

Plant-based foods and beverages Plant-based foods Breakfasts Cereals and potatoes Cereals and their products Breakfast cereals Porridge Plain porridge

High-score cross-brand comparables for Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal

Neighbours outside Cream Of Wheat with screening scores in the same high band as Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal (85/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Cream Of Wheat; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

BHT is the first flagged ingredient selected from Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 21-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to BHT. Open BHT
  • Compare Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal'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 0013130060257: 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.