Special K Protein Shake
by Special K
Open Food Facts label for barcode 0038000528910 · Special K · Beverages. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.
The verdict
Special K Protein Shake by Special K scores 80/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 40 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 2 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 40-component record, beginning with Water, Nonfat Milk, Soy Protein Isolate. That density can include amounts and label fragments, so verify the physical label before relying on ingredient order or completeness. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.
- 80/100
- Caution safety score
- 2
- Few flagged · of 40 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
53/100
Grade C-
Ingredient Safety
80/100
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.
00528910 · Open Food Facts · July 2026
Special K Protein Shake label screening desk
18 of 40 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Polydextrose). Source sheet 00528910 · 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: Beef flavor bouillon · Nearest score peer is Beef flavor bouillon 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.
The declared list is among the longer ones in this catalogue. A component set this wide means the screen returns many individual ratings, and the composite accumulates a large number of small contributions instead of turning on a handful of entries. At this length the per-component table below is substantially more informative than the single figure, because the figure compresses a great deal of variation into one number.
Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood
How It Compares to Its Category
Among the 32,623 products we've scored in the Beverages category, the average safety score is 90.5/100. Special K Protein Shake scores 10.5 points below that category average (80/100 vs. 90.5/100), 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 Beverages products
Special K Protein Shake lists 40 ingredients on its label
40 98th percentile a longer ingredient list than 98% of the 16,917 products we track
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
- 0–2
- 161 products (1%)
- 2–4
- 2,220 products (13%)
- 4–6
- 1,699 products (10%)
- 6–8
- 2,564 products (15%)
- 8–10
- 2,835 products (17%)
- 10–12
- 2,099 products (12%)
- 12–14
- 1,442 products (9%)
- 14–16
- 997 products (6%)
- 16–18
- 595 products (4%)
- 18–20
- 402 products (2%)
- 20–22
- 347 products (2%)
- 22–24
- 277 products (2%)
- 24–26
- 256 products (2%)
- 26–28
- 216 products (1%)
- 28–30
- 131 products (1%)
- 30–32
- 66 products (0%)
- 32–34
- 51 products (0%)
- 34–36
- 47 products (0%)
- 36–38
- 43 products (0%)
- 38–40
- 51 products (0%)
- 40 and above
- 418 products (2%)
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 16,917 Beverages products we publish with a parsed label, not against the whole catalogue, because list length varies far more between categories than within one.
Ingredient Safety Analysis
How the 80/100 score is built
Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (2 flagged of 40 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.
Full Ingredient List
Water, nonfat milk, soy protein isolate, sugar, contains 2% or less of canola oil, polydextrose, cocoa processed with alkali, natural and artificial flavors, gellan gum, caramel color, cellulose gum, potassium citrate, dipotassium phosphate, sucralose, acesulfame potassium. vitamins and minerals: magnesium phosphate, tricalcium phosphate, vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), vitamin e acetate, vitamin a palmitate, niacinamide, iron (ferric pyrophosphate), calcium pantothenate, zinc sulfate, vitamin d3, manganese sulfate, vitamin k1, vitamin b1 (thiamin hydrochloride), vitamin b6 pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), potassium iodide, chromium chloride, sodium selenite, folic acid, sodium molybdate, biotin, vitamin b12.
Other products containing Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine Hydrochloride is the least common ingredient on this label, appearing in 7 products across the catalog. See its safety profile.
Categories
More from Special K
High-score cross-brand comparables for Special K Protein Shake
Neighbours outside Special K with screening scores in the same high band as Special K Protein Shake (80/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Special K; these peers cross brands.
Same high-band screening score
Nearest cross-brand products by screening score (2 flagged of 40 on 0038000528910).
Long-label peers (21+ ingredients)
Nearest cross-brand labels by linked ingredient count (40 on 0038000528910).
Follow the flagged-label evidence
Follow the flagged-label evidence
Polydextrose is the first flagged ingredient selected from Special K Protein Shake's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 40-ingredient record.
- Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Polydextrose. Open Polydextrose
- Compare Special K Protein Shake's 2 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 0038000528910: 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.