Safe

Cereal

by General Mills

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0016000434721 · General Mills · Plant-based foods and beverages. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0016000434721 · Serving size 3/4 cup (31 g) (31 g)

The verdict

Cereal by General Mills scores 100/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 29 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 0 ingredients are flagged for caution. The 29-component label is layered, beginning with Whole Grain Wheat, Sugar, Rice Flour. 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.

100/100
Safe safety score
0
None flagged · of 29 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

63/100

Grade C+

Ingredient Safety

100/100

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.

00434721 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Cereal label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 100/100 FLAG-CLEAN 0 flagged LEN-LAYERED 29 ing. REG-PART 41% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-D Nutri-D RANK-SHORT Len top 10% LEAD-RARE Vitamin A PHOTO-FINISH Old El Paso, · ±0 BOOK-OFF …434721 · July 2026

12 of 29 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Vitamin A). Source sheet 00434721 · 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: Old El Paso, Tortilla Stuffers Meal Starter · Nearest score peer is Old El Paso, Tortilla Stuffers Meal Starter at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

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

Within the four-tier shelf-label framework this site publishes, the composite for this product falls in the highest band. That band is defined by a threshold on the derived score alone: it is where labels land once components carrying caution-or-worse registry ratings contribute little or nothing to the deduction. The band is a summary of what the screened registries return for the components that were parsed, so it inherits their coverage gaps — a component absent from both registries neither raises nor lowers the figure. The threshold and the weighting behind it are set out on the methodology page.

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. Cereal: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Cereal100/1002. Old El Paso, Tortilla Stuffers Meal Starter: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Old El Paso, Tortilla Stu…100/1003. Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Toasted Whole Grain Oat C…100/1004. Chicken Helper, Pasta With Crumb Coating & Sauce Mix, Crispy Parmesan Chicken, Crispy Parmesan Chicken: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Chicken Helper, Pasta Wit…100/1005. Chewy Bars, Oats & Chocolate: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Chewy Bars, Oats & Chocol…100/100
High-band neighbours for Cereal (100/100) outside General Mills.
Chart values as text

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

Cereal
100/100
Old El Paso, Tortilla Stuffers Meal Starter
100/100
Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal
100/100
Chicken Helper, Pasta With Crumb Coating & Sauce Mix, Crispy Parmesan Chicken, Crispy Parmesan Chicken
100/100
Chewy Bars, Oats & Chocolate
100/100

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. Cereal scores 2.3 points above that category average (100/100 vs. 97.7/100), so it is roughly typical 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

Cereal lists 29 ingredients on its label

29 90th percentile a longer ingredient list than 90% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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: 29 (90th 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

1
Whole Grain Wheat
2
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
3
Rice Flour
4
Canola Oil
5
Fructose
Sweetener
Cut Back
6
Maltodextrin
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, HUMECTANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Safe GRAS
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
Cinnamon
10
Trisodium Phosphate
11
Soy Lecithin
12
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
13
Iron And Zinc
14
Mineral Nutrients
15
Vitamin C
16
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
17
B Vitamin
18
Niacinamide
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
19
Vitamin B6
20
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
21
Vitamin B2
22
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
23
Vitamin B1
24
Thiamin Mononitrate
25
Vitamin A
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
26
Palmitate
27
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
28
Vitamin B12
29
Vitamin D3

Full Ingredient List

Whole Grain Wheat, Sugar, Rice Flour, Canola Oil, Fructose, Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Salt, Cinnamon, Trisodium Phosphate, Soy Lecithin, Caramel Color. BHT Added to Preserve Freshness. Vitamins and Minerals: Calcium Carbonate, Iron and Zinc (mineral nutrients), Vitamin C (sodium ascorbate), A B Vitamin (niacinamide), Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B1 (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 Extruded cereals

High-score cross-brand comparables for Cereal

Neighbours outside General Mills with screening scores in the same high band as Cereal (100/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within General Mills; these peers cross brands.

Read the longer label in layers

Read the longer label in layers

Cereal has a longer ingredient list than 90% of its Plant-based foods and beverages category comparison set. Use the ingredient table before relying on its single screening score.

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

Barcode 0016000434721: 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.