Avoid

Lucky Charms

by Lucky Charms

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0016000123991 · Lucky Charms · Plant-based foods and beverages. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0016000123991 · Serving size 1 cup (36 g)

The verdict

Lucky Charms by Lucky Charms scores 25/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 35 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 3 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 35-component record, beginning with Whole Grain Oats, Sugar, Oat Flour. 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.

25/100
Avoid safety score
3
Few flagged · of 35 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
D
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

25/100

Grade F

Ingredient Safety

25/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

D

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.

00123991 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Lucky Charms label screening desk

SCORE-AVOID 25/100 FLAG-FEW 3 flagged LEN-DENSE 35 ing. REG-PART 43% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-D Nutri-D RANK-SHORT Len top 5% LEAD-FLAG Blue 1 PHOTO-FINISH Lucky Charms · ±0 BOOK-OFF …123991 · July 2026

15 of 35 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Blue 1). Source sheet 00123991 · 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: Lucky Charms · Nearest score peer is Lucky Charms 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 lowest of the four bands. That is where labels land when registry-rated components drive the greater part of the deduction from the index. The band name is drawn from the framework's own scale and is distinct from the ratings the registries themselves assign to individual substances, which are shown per component below. A single heavily rated component and several lightly rated ones can produce the same band, so the component table is the more precise reading of the two.

This label falls in the fourth Nutri-Score band. The model arrives there when its penalty terms — energy density, sugars, saturated fat, sodium — carry more weight in the calculation than the fibre, protein and produce content it credits. The band covers a wide span of the points scale, so position within it is not visible from the letter alone. The grade reflects the declared nutrition panel and is unrelated to the additive ratings listed below, which come from different bodies applying different criteria.

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. Lucky Charms: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Lucky Charms25/1002. Lucky Charms: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Lucky Charms25/1003. Spicy Jalapeño Cheddar Flavored Taco Shells: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Spicy Jalapeño Cheddar Fl…25/1004. Protein Bars Strawberries & Cream: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Protein Bars Strawberries…25/1005. Protein Bars Vanilla Strawberry & Cream: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Protein Bars Vanilla Stra…25/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Lucky Charms (25/100 on 35 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

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

Lucky Charms
25/100
Lucky Charms
25/100
Spicy Jalapeño Cheddar Flavored Taco Shells
25/100
Protein Bars Strawberries & Cream
25/100
Protein Bars Vanilla Strawberry & Cream
25/100

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. Lucky Charms scores 72.7 points below that category average (25/100 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

Lucky Charms lists 35 ingredients on its label

35 95th percentile a longer ingredient list than 95% 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%). Below this entry. 22–24: 1,758 products (3%). Below this entry. 24–26: 1,623 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 1,606 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 1,360 products (2%). Below this entry. 30–32: 1,198 products (2%). Below this entry. 32–34: 1,081 products (2%). Below this entry. 34–36: 901 products (1%). This entry sits in this band. 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: 35 (95th 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.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

How the 25/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (3 flagged of 35 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Whole Grain Oats
2
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
3
Oat Flour
4
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
5
Corn Starch
6
Corn Starch
7
Dextrose
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
Cut Back GRAS
8
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
9
Gelatin
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Safe GRAS
10
Trisodium Phosphate
11
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
12
Red 40
Avoid Approved (certified color)
13
Blue 1
Caution Approved (certified color)
14
Natural And Artificial Flavor
15
Vitamin E
16
Mixed Tocopherols
17
Added To Preserve Freshness
18
Calcium Carbonate
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, LEAVENING AGENT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MASTICATORY SUBSTANCE, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID
GRAS
19
Zinc And Iron
20
Mineral Nutrients
21
Vitamin C
22
Sodium Ascorbate
ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DOUGH STRENGTHENER, FLOUR TREATING AGENT, LEAVENING AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, OXIDIZING OR REDUCING AGENT, PROCESSING AID, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT
GRAS
23
B Vitamin
24
Niacinamide
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
25
Vitamin B6
26
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
27
Vitamin B2
28
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
29
Vitamin B
30
Thiamin Mononitrate
31
Vitamin A
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
32
Palmitate
33
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
34
Vitamin B12
35
Vitamin D3

Full Ingredient List

whole grain oats, sugar, oat flour, corn syrup, modified corn starch, corn starch, dextrose, salt, gelatin, trisodium phosphate, yellow 5 , 6, red 40, blue 1, natural and artificial flavor, vitamin e (mixed tocopherols) added to preserve freshness, vitamins and minerals: calcium carbonate, zinc and iron (mineral nutrients), vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), a b vitamin (niacinamide), vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), vitamin b, (thiamin mononitrate), vitamin a (palmitate), a b vitamin (folic acid), vitamin b12, vitamin d3.

Categories

Plant-based foods and beverages Plant-based foods Breakfasts Cereals and potatoes Cereals and their products Breakfast cereals Puffed grains Extruded cereals Puffed cereals

Lower-score cross-brand comparables for Lucky Charms

Neighbours outside Lucky Charms in the same lower screening band as Lucky Charms (25/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Lucky Charms; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Blue 1 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Lucky Charms'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 Blue 1. Open Blue 1
  • Compare Lucky Charms's 3 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 0016000123991: 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.