Swedish meatballs
Contains 2 flagged ingredients
Swedish meatballs receives a safety score of 90/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. The product contains 2 ingredients 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.
What the Data Says About
Swedish meatballs carries a composite safety score of 90/100, 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 2 flagged ingredients 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, Swedish meatballs 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. The Nutri-Score grade of C reflects nutritional balance — calories, saturated fat, sugar, sodium versus fiber, protein, and produce content — which again is a distinct dimension from additive safety and worth weighing alongside the scores above.
Safety Profile at a Glance
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| PlainFoodSafe Score | 90/100 | FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite |
| Flagged ingredients | 2 | CSPI/FDA review |
| NOVA processing group | Group 4 | OpenFoodFacts |
| Nutri-Score | C | OpenFoodFacts |
Composite metric derived from FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine, OpenFoodFacts. See methodology.
Ingredient Safety Analysis
Full Ingredient List
Sauce (water, sour cream [cream, cultured milk, whey, carrageenan, guar gum, modified corn starch, sodium phosphate, carob bean gum, potassium sorbate], modified corn starch, beef flavor [beef broth, yeast extract, salt, maltodextrin, citric acid, flavor, lactic acid], sherry wine, caramel color, salt, flavor [potassium chloride, ammonium chloride, yeast extract, natural flavor {lactic acid, citric acid}], black pepper, onions), egg noodles: egg noodle pasta (water, enriched wheat flour [ semolina wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin and folic acid], dried whole eggs, soybean oil, citric acid), meatballs (mechanically separated chicken [chicken, salt, natural flavorings, citric acid], pork, beef, water, soy flour, caramel color, soy protein concentrate with less than 2% soy lecithin, enriched bleached wheat flour [{niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid}, durum flour, leavening {sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate}, yeast], dehydrated onion, crushed garlic [garlic, citric acid], soy sauce [water, wheat, soybeans, salt], caramel color, sodium tripolyphosphate, salt, spice, flavoring [spice extractive with soybean oil, mono and diglycerides, sunflower lecithin]).
Categories
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.
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