Caution

Smart balance light

by Boulder Brands Usa Inc.

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0033776011536 · Boulder Brands Usa Inc. · Fats. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0033776011536 · Serving size 1 Tbsp (14 g)

The verdict

Smart balance light by Boulder Brands Usa Inc. scores 85/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 17 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 1 ingredient is flagged for caution. The 17-component label is layered, beginning with Water, Vegetable Oil Blend, Palm. 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 17 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

55/100

Grade C

Ingredient Safety

85/100

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.

76011536 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Smart balance light label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 85/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-LAYERED 17 ing. REG-PART 35% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-D Nutri-D RANK-MID Len top 21% LEAD-FLAG TBHQ PHOTO-FINISH Omega-3 Buttery Spread · ±0 BOOK-OFF …011536 · July 2026

6 of 17 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: TBHQ). Source sheet 76011536 · 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: Omega-3 Buttery Spread · Nearest score peer is Omega-3 Buttery Spread 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 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.

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.

A mid-length component list was parsed from this label. There are enough separate entries for the screen to match several independently, while each matched entry still carries visible weight in the resulting index. Lists of this size are the most common shape in the catalogue, which makes the composite here easier to place against comparable products than at either extreme.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Smart balance light: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Smart balance light85/1002. Omega-3 Buttery Spread: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Omega-3 Buttery Spread85/1003. Pork and Chicken Sausages: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Pork and Chicken Sausages85/1004. Chinese pork sausage: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Chinese pork sausage85/1005. Smoked Jalapeno & Cheese Sausage: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Smoked Jalapeno & Cheese …85/100
High-band neighbours for Smart balance light (85/100) outside Boulder Brands Usa Inc..
Chart values as text

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

Smart balance light
85/100
Omega-3 Buttery Spread
85/100
Pork and Chicken Sausages
85/100
Chinese pork sausage
85/100
Smoked Jalapeno & Cheese Sausage
85/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 6,364 products we've scored in the Spreads category, the average safety score is 99.2/100. Smart balance light scores 14.2 points below that category average (85/100 vs. 99.2/100), 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 Fats products

Smart balance light lists 17 ingredients on its label

17 79th percentile a longer ingredient list than 79% of the 788 products we track

0–2: 13 products (2%). Below this entry. 2–4: 228 products (29%). Below this entry. 4–6: 41 products (5%). Below this entry. 6–8: 47 products (6%). Below this entry. 8–10: 42 products (5%). Below this entry. 10–12: 50 products (6%). Below this entry. 12–14: 82 products (10%). Below this entry. 14–16: 77 products (10%). Below this entry. 16–18: 114 products (14%). This entry sits in this band. 18–20: 31 products (4%). Above this entry. 20–22: 17 products (2%). Above this entry. 22–24: 4 products (1%). Above this entry. 24–26: 9 products (1%). Above this entry. 26–28: 9 products (1%). Above this entry. 28–30: 3 products (0%). Above this entry. 30–32: 2 products (0%). Above this entry. 32–34: 3 products (0%). Above this entry. 34–36: 3 products (0%). Above this entry. 38–40: 3 products (0%). Above this entry. 40–42: 10 products (1%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Fats 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

788 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 17 (79th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
13 products (2%)
2–4
228 products (29%)
4–6
41 products (5%)
6–8
47 products (6%)
8–10
42 products (5%)
10–12
50 products (6%)
12–14
82 products (10%)
14–16
77 products (10%)
16–18
114 products (14%)
18–20
31 products (4%)
20–22
17 products (2%)
22–24
4 products (1%)
24–26
9 products (1%)
26–28
9 products (1%)
28–30
3 products (0%)
30–32
2 products (0%)
32–34
3 products (0%)
34–36
3 products (0%)
38–40
3 products (0%)
40 and above
10 products (1%)

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 788 Fats products we publish with a parsed label, not against the whole catalogue, because list length varies far more between categories than within one.

Full Ingredient List

water, vegetable oil blend (palm, canola, flaxseed, and olive oils), less than 2 percent of: salt, natural and artificial flavors, vitamin a palmitate, beta-carotene (color), vegetable monoglycerides and sorbitan ester of fatty acids (emulsifier), and potassium sorbate, lactic acid, tbhq, calcium disodium edta (to protect freshness),

Other products containing Vegetable Monoglycerides And Sorbitan Ester Of Fatty Acids

Vegetable Monoglycerides And Sorbitan Ester Of Fatty Acids is the least common ingredient on this label, appearing in 3 products across the catalog. See its safety profile.

Categories

Fats Spreads Salted spreads

More from Boulder Brands Usa Inc.

High-score cross-brand comparables for Smart balance light

Neighbours outside Boulder Brands Usa Inc. with screening scores in the same high band as Smart balance light (85/100 here). The 1 same-brand link above stay within Boulder Brands Usa Inc.; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

TBHQ is the first flagged ingredient selected from Smart balance light's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 17-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to TBHQ. Open TBHQ
  • Compare Smart balance light'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 0033776011536: 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.