Tamales
Tamales receives a safety score of 100/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. None of the ingredients in this product are flagged for safety concerns by FDA or CSPI 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
Tamales carries a composite safety score of 100/100, 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 did not identify any ingredients in this product that FDA SAFFA or CSPI Chemical Cuisine data flags as requiring caution or avoidance at the time of analysis. That is a meaningful clean-label signal, though it does not account for personal allergens, regional recalls, or inspection findings not reflected in federal additive databases. The per-ingredient breakdown below shows the source-level classification for each component.
On the NOVA processing scale, Tamales 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
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| PlainFoodSafe Score | 100/100 | FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite |
| Flagged ingredients | 0 | 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
Full Ingredient List
Water, instant corn flour, refined lard (lard, bha and bht as antioxidants), rendered cured pork fat (cured with water, corn syrup solids, salt, sugar, sodium phosphates, sodium erythorbate, and sodium nitrite), monterey jack cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt and enzymes), roasted green chile (roasted green chiles, water, citric acid, salt and calcium chloride), tomatillo (tomatillo, water, salt and citric acid), chicken flavor (hydrolyzed corn protein, hydrolyzed soy protein, yeast extract, chicken fat, salt, chicken meat, natural flavor, silicon dioxide as anticaking agent, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate), green bell pepper strips, cheddar cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, and enzymes), bleached enriched wheat flour (bleached enriched wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), soybean oil, modified corn starch, sugar, salt, garlic, monosodium glutamate, xanthan gum, guar gum, and cayenne pepper.
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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