Caution

alka seltzer

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0016500592860. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0016500592860

The verdict

alka seltzer scores 85/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 26 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 1 ingredient is flagged for caution. The 26-component label is layered, beginning with Carmine, Carnauba Wax, Citric Acid. 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 26 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
0016500592860
Barcode (UPC/EAN)

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

N/A

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.

00592860 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

alka seltzer label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 85/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-LAYERED 26 ing. REG-PART 54% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-UNK Nutri n/a RANK-SHORT Len top 19% LEAD-FLAG Sorbitol PHOTO-SOLO No peers BOOK-OFF …592860 · July 2026

14 of 26 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Sorbitol). Source sheet 00592860 · 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

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.

No Nutri-Score grade is present for this record in the OpenFoodFacts snapshot this page is built from. The nutritional dimension is absent rather than assessed and withheld: the grade depends on a complete declared nutrition panel, and community-contributed records vary in how much of that panel they carry. Nothing about the missing grade implies anything either way about the panel itself. The screen below covers additive ratings only and does not depend on the nutrition figures.

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.

Ingredient-list length vs every product we publish

alka seltzer lists 26 ingredients on its label

26 81st percentile a longer ingredient list than 81% of the 359,392 products we track

0–2: 6,050 products (2%). Below this entry. 2–4: 24,522 products (7%). Below this entry. 4–6: 31,054 products (9%). Below this entry. 6–8: 30,981 products (9%). Below this entry. 8–10: 31,618 products (9%). Below this entry. 10–12: 29,943 products (8%). Below this entry. 12–14: 28,403 products (8%). Below this entry. 14–16: 27,417 products (8%). Below this entry. 16–18: 24,508 products (7%). Below this entry. 18–20: 19,062 products (5%). Below this entry. 20–22: 14,679 products (4%). Below this entry. 22–24: 12,238 products (3%). Below this entry. 24–26: 10,830 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 9,344 products (3%). This entry sits in this band. 28–30: 7,955 products (2%). Above this entry. 30–32: 6,753 products (2%). Above this entry. 32–34: 5,918 products (2%). Above this entry. 34–36: 5,282 products (1%). Above this entry. 36–38: 4,531 products (1%). Above this entry. 38–40: 4,063 products (1%). Above this entry. 40–42: 24,241 products (7%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published 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

359,392 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 26 (81st percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
6,050 products (2%)
2–4
24,522 products (7%)
4–6
31,054 products (9%)
6–8
30,981 products (9%)
8–10
31,618 products (9%)
10–12
29,943 products (8%)
12–14
28,403 products (8%)
14–16
27,417 products (8%)
16–18
24,508 products (7%)
18–20
19,062 products (5%)
20–22
14,679 products (4%)
22–24
12,238 products (3%)
24–26
10,830 products (3%)
26–28
9,344 products (3%)
28–30
7,955 products (2%)
30–32
6,753 products (2%)
32–34
5,918 products (2%)
34–36
5,282 products (1%)
36–38
4,531 products (1%)
38–40
4,063 products (1%)
40 and above
24,241 products (7%)

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. No category with enough published products was available for this record, so the comparison runs against the whole published catalogue.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

How the 85/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (1 flagged of 26 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Carmine
Coloring
Certain People Should Avoid
2
Carnauba Wax
3
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
4
Corn Starch
5
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
6
Fd&c Red No.40 Aluminum Lake
7
Natural Flavors
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
Vegetable Oil
10
Lecithin
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MASTICATORY SUBSTANCE, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Safe GRAS
11
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
12
Starch
Thickener
Safe
13
Potassium Hydroxide
FORMULATION AID, FUMIGANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, WASHING OR SURFACE REMOVAL AGENT
GRAS
14
Pregelatinized Modified E Of This Product Starch
15
Propylene Glycol
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
16
Shellac
17
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
18
6 Chewable Under The Advice Sorbic Acid
19
Sorbitol
Sweetener
Cut Back
20
Sucrose
NUTRITIVE SWEETENER
GRAS
21
Titanium Dioxide
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, HUMECTANT, PROCESSING AID, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TRACER
Avoid Prior Sanctioned
22
Triacetin
Other
Safe
23
Water
24
White Wax Store At Room Temperature. Avoid Excessive Heat Above 40°c
25
104°f
26
Mon-fri 9am-5pm Est

Full Ingredient List

dients ore use if you drug. antacids ion drugs. ble tablets in a inactive ingredients acacia, carmine, carnauba wax, citric acid, corn starch, corn syrup, fd&c red no.40 aluminum lake, flavors, hydrogenated coconut oil, hydrogenated vegetable oil, lecithin, maltodextrin, modified starch, potassium hydroxide, pregelatinized modified e of this product starch, propylene glycol, shellac, sodium benzoate, an 6 chewable under the advice sorbic acid, sorbitol, sucrose, titanium dioxide, triacetin, water, white wax store at room temperature. avoid excessive heat above 40°c (104°f). close cap tightly after use inform your oduct. questions or comments? 1-800-986-0369 (mon-fri 9am-5pm est)

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Sorbitol is the first flagged ingredient selected from alka seltzer's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 26-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Sorbitol. Open Sorbitol
  • Compare alka seltzer'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 0016500592860: 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.