Kellogg's Special K Cereal Bars Red Berries .81oz

85
Caution
Safety Score (out of 100)

Contains 1 flagged ingredient

Kellogg's Special K Cereal Bars Red Berries .81oz receives a safety score of 85/100 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
0038000012587
Nutri-Score
d
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed
Serving Size
1 Bar (23 g)

What the Data Says About

Kellogg's Special K Cereal Bars Red Berries .81oz carries a composite safety score of 85/100, which we classify as "Caution" 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, Kellogg's Special K Cereal Bars Red Berries .81oz 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 D 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

Composite safety metrics for Kellogg's Special K Cereal Bars Red Berries .81oz
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 85/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 1 CSPI/FDA review
NOVA processing group Group 4 OpenFoodFacts
Nutri-Score D OpenFoodFacts

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

Ingredient Safety Analysis

1
Cereal
2
Rice
3
Whole Grain Wheat
4
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
5
Wheat Bran
6
Soluble Wheat Fiber
7
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
8
Malt Flavoring
9
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
10
Vitamin B1
11
Thiamin Mononitrate
12
Vitamin B2
13
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
14
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
15
Soluble Corn Fiber
16
Fructose
Sweetener
Cut Back
17
Natural Strawberry Flavored Fruit Pieces
18
Dried Cranberries
19
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
20
Strawberry Flavor With Other Natural Flavors
21
Elderberry Juice Concentrate For Color
22
Sunflower Oil
23
Vegetable Oil
24
Soybean And Palm Oil With Tbhq For Freshness
25
Partially Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil
26
Or Less Of Dextrose
27
Sorbitol
Sweetener
Cut Back
28
Glycerin
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, HUMECTANT, MASTICATORY SUBSTANCE, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
Safe GRAS
29
Nonfat Milk
30
Natural And Artificial Strawberry Flavor
31
Soy Lecithin
32
Natural And Artificial Flavor
33
Niacinamide
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
34
Color Added
35
Vitamin B6
36
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
37
BHT
Caution GRAS
38
Preservative

Full Ingredient List

Cereal (rice, whole grain wheat, sugar, wheat bran, soluble wheat fiber, salt, malt flavoring, maltodextrin, vitamin b1 [thiamin mononitrate], vitamin b2 [riboflavin]), corn syrup, soluble corn fiber, fructose, strawberry flavored fruit pieces (sugar, cranberries, citric acid, natural strawberry flavor with other natural flavors, elderberry juice concentrate for color, sunflower oil), sugar, vegetable oil (soybean and palm oil with tbhq for freshness, partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil), maltodextrin, contains 2% or less of dextrose, sorbitol, glycerin, nonfat milk, natural and artificial strawberry flavor, soy lecithin, salt, natural and artificial flavor, niacinamide, color added, vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), bht (preservative).

Categories

Snacks Sweet snacks Bars Cereal bars

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