Nutty Buddy Cakes

by Little Debbie

95
Safe
Safety Score (out of 100)

Contains 1 flagged ingredient

Nutty Buddy Cakes by Little Debbie receives a safety score of 95/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. The product contains 1 ingredient that have been flagged for potential safety concerns by regulatory or consumer advocacy databases. Product label data is sourced from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative database. See the full ingredient breakdown and safety assessment below.

Barcode
0024300043291
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed
Serving Size
1 cake (36 g)

What the Data Says About

Nutty Buddy Cakes by Little Debbie carries a composite safety score of 95/100, which we classify as "Safe" on our four-tier shelf-label framework. The score is computed by mapping each labeled ingredient against FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) regulatory status and CSPI Chemical Cuisine classifications, then penalizing the overall product for each additive rated as caution-or-worse. Product data originates from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative catalog; safety annotations come from federal regulators and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Our scan identified 1 flagged ingredient in this product — components that at least one official source has classified as requiring caution, targeted avoidance, or further evaluation. Flagged ingredients are the items most likely to surface in FDA inspection findings, state-level ingredient bans, or outbreak-related recall notices, so the per-ingredient breakdown below is the most useful lens for anyone screening this product for a specific dietary concern.

On the NOVA processing scale, Nutty Buddy Cakes is classified as Group 4 (Ultra-processed). NOVA measures industrial processing intensity rather than ingredient-level safety, so it complements the SAFFA and CSPI ratings: a product can be clean on additive flags but heavily processed, or lightly processed but carry individually flagged ingredients. Combining both lenses gives a fuller picture than either alone.

Safety Profile at a Glance

Composite safety metrics for Nutty Buddy Cakes
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 95/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 1 CSPI/FDA review
NOVA processing group Group 4 OpenFoodFacts
Nutri-Score Not available OpenFoodFacts

Composite metric derived from FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine, OpenFoodFacts. See methodology.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

1
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
2
Water
3
Enriched Bleached Flour
4
Wheat Flour
5
Barley Malt
6
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
7
Reduced Iron
8
Thiamin Mononitrate
9
Vitamin B1
10
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
11
Vitamin B2
12
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
13
Peanut Butter
14
Peanuts
15
Hydrogenated Rapeseed And Cottonseed Oil
16
Palm And Palm Kernel Oil
17
High-fructose corn syrup
Sweetener
Cut Back
18
Palm And Soybean Oils With Tbhq And Citric Acid To Protect Flavor
19
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
20
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
21
Organic Cocoa
22
Soy Lecithin
23
Whey
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FORMULATION AID, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
24
Milk
25
Eggs
26
Soy Flour
27
Corn Starch
28
Leavening
29
Sodium Aluminum Phosphate
30
Baking Soda
31
Corn Starch
32
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
33
Soybean Oil
34
Mono - And Diglycerides
35
Preservatives
36
Sorbic Acid
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
Safe GRAS
37
Adipic Acid
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, PH CONTROL AGENT
GRAS
38
Potassium Sorbate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT
Safe GRAS
39
Sorbitan Monostearate
EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT
Safe Approved
40
Natural And Artificial Flavors
41
Polysorbate 60
BOILER WATER ADDITIVE, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Caution Approved
42
Caramel Coloring
Caution Approved (color additive, GRAS)

Full Ingredient List

SUGAR, WATER, ENRICHED BLEACHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, BARLEY MALT, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2)], FOLIC ACID), PEANUT BUTTER (PEANUTS, HYDROGENATED RAPESEED AND COTTONSEED OIL), PALM AND PALM KERNEL OIL, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, PALM AND SOYBEAN OILS WITH TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID TO PROTECT FLAVOR, CORN SYRUP, DEXTROSE, COCOA, SOY LECITHIN, WHEY (MILK), DRIED EGGS, SOY FLOUR, CORN STARCH, LEAVENING (SODIUM ALUMINUM PHOSPHATE, BAKING SODA), MODIFIED CORN STARCH, SALT, SOYBEAN OIL, MONO - AND DIGLYCERIDES, PRESERVATIVES (SORBIC ACID, ADIPIC ACID, POTASSIUM SORBATE), SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, POLYSORBATE 60, CARAMEL COLOR.

Data Sources

Data as of 2025. Source: OpenFoodFacts, FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine.

Product data from OpenFoodFacts (ODbL). Ingredient safety ratings from FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine. See our methodology for details.

This information is for reference only and does not constitute dietary or medical advice.

Related

Data sourced from official FDA, USDA, and CDC food-safety databases. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFoodSafe Editorial