Concern

Caramel apple cider instant drink mix

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0041449004600 · Beverages. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0041449004600 · Serving size 1 POUCH (6-8 fl oz AS PREPARED) (16 g)

The verdict

Caramel apple cider instant drink mix scores 65/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 13 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 3 ingredients are flagged for caution. This is a focused 13-component label led by Sugar, Malic Acid, Maltodextrin; compare those leading ingredients with the product's processing and nutrition fields before deciding whether it fits your goal. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

65/100
Concern safety score
3
Few flagged · of 13 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
0041449004600
Barcode (UPC/EAN)

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

47/100

Grade D

Ingredient Safety

65/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

N/A

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.

49004600 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Caramel apple cider instant drink mix label screening desk

SCORE-CONC 65/100 FLAG-FEW 3 flagged LEN-FOCUSED 13 ing. REG-PART 54% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-UNK Nutri n/a RANK-MID Len top 27% LEAD-FLAG Aspartame PHOTO-SOLO No peers BOOK-OFF …004600 · July 2026

7 of 13 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Aspartame). Source sheet 49004600 · 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

Screening model notes

How Nutri-Score, NOVA, and list length read this record

This label lands in the third of four positions on the published scale. What separates that position from its neighbours is arithmetic rather than judgement: identical inputs run through the documented weighting always arrive at the same place. Anyone who works the calculation through by hand, using the methodology write-up together with the itemised ratings further down, will reproduce this number exactly — which is the reason for publishing a computed figure instead of an opinion.

No Nutri-Score grade is present for this record in the OpenFoodFacts snapshot this page is built from. The nutritional dimension is absent rather than assessed and withheld: the grade depends on a complete declared nutrition panel, and community-contributed records vary in how much of that panel they carry. Nothing about the missing grade implies anything either way about the panel itself. The screen below covers additive ratings only and does not depend on the nutrition figures.

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.

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. Caramel apple cider instant drink mix scores 25.5 points below that category average (65/100 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

Caramel apple cider instant drink mix lists 13 ingredients on its label

13 73rd percentile a longer ingredient list than 73% of the 16,917 products we track

0–2: 161 products (1%). Below this entry. 2–4: 2,220 products (13%). Below this entry. 4–6: 1,699 products (10%). Below this entry. 6–8: 2,564 products (15%). Below this entry. 8–10: 2,835 products (17%). Below this entry. 10–12: 2,099 products (12%). Below this entry. 12–14: 1,442 products (9%). This entry sits in this band. 14–16: 997 products (6%). Above this entry. 16–18: 595 products (4%). Above this entry. 18–20: 402 products (2%). Above this entry. 20–22: 347 products (2%). Above this entry. 22–24: 277 products (2%). Above this entry. 24–26: 256 products (2%). Above this entry. 26–28: 216 products (1%). Above this entry. 28–30: 131 products (1%). Above this entry. 30–32: 66 products (0%). Above this entry. 32–34: 51 products (0%). Above this entry. 34–36: 47 products (0%). Above this entry. 36–38: 43 products (0%). Above this entry. 38–40: 51 products (0%). Above this entry. 40–42: 418 products (2%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Beverages 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

16,917 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 13 (73rd percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

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 65/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (3 flagged of 13 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
2
Malic Acid
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SYNERGIST
Safe GRAS
3
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
4
Natural And Artificial Flavors
 5
Caramel Coloring
Coloring
Avoid Approved (color additive, GRAS)
6
Tricalcium Phosphate
 7
Prevents Caking
 8
Apple Juice Solids
 9
Sodium Citrate
 10
Controls Acidity
 11
Ascorbic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DOUGH STRENGTHENER, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SEQUESTRANT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
12
Aspartame
FLAVOR ENHANCER, NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENER
Avoid Approved
13
Acesulfame Potassium
NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENER
Avoid Approved

Full Ingredient List

Sugar, malic acid, maltodextrin, natural and artificial flavors, caramel color, tricalcium phosphate (prevents caking), apple juice solids, sodium citrate (controls acidity), ascorbic acid, aspartame*, acesulfame potassium.

Other products containing Apple Juice Solids

Apple Juice Solids is the least common ingredient on this label, appearing in 20 products across the catalog. See its safety profile.

Hammond's, toffee peanuts, caramel apple Hammond's Hammond's, toffee peanuts, caramel apple Hammond's Spiced Apple Cider Alpine Apple bourbon pork tenderloin, apple bourbon Hormel Apple bourbon pork tenderloin, apple bourbon Hormel Chciken & Apple Breakfast Sausage Links bettergoods Kettle Classics Crunchy Potato Chips Utz

Categories

Beverages Dried products Dried products to be rehydrated Dehydrated beverages

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Aspartame is the first flagged ingredient selected from Caramel apple cider instant drink mix's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 13-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Aspartame. Open Aspartame
  • Compare Caramel apple cider instant drink mix's 3 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 0041449004600: 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.