Caution

California chef salad

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0046567689524 · Salted-snacks. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0046567689524 · Serving size 10.75 ONZ (305 g)

The verdict

California chef salad scores 80/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 60 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 60-component record, beginning with Salad Mix, Romaine Lettuce, Organic Radicchio. 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 60 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
C
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

58/100

Grade C

Ingredient Safety

80/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

C

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.

67689524 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

California chef salad label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 80/100 FLAG-FEW 2 flagged LEN-DENSE 60 ing. REG-SPARSE 20% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-C Nutri-C RANK-SHORT Len top 2% LEAD-FLAG Sodium Nitrite PHOTO-SOLO No peers BOOK-OFF …689524 · July 2026

12 of 60 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Sodium Nitrite). Source sheet 67689524 · 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

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.

Nutri-Score settled on its middle grade here, the band the algorithm produces when the penalty and credit sides of its nutrient ledger come out close to balanced. A mid-scale grade is a statement about the panel as a whole rather than about any single nutrient, and products arrive at it by very different routes: a moderate profile across every term, or high marks on some offset by heavy penalties on others. The grade is computed separately from the ingredient screen below and the two are not comparable measures.

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.

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 6,228 products we've scored in the Salted-snacks category, the average safety score is 94.1/100. California chef salad scores 14.1 points below that category average (80/100 vs. 94.1/100), 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 Salted-snacks products

California chef salad lists 60 ingredients on its label

60 98th percentile a longer ingredient list than 98% of the 5,429 products we track

0–2: 3 products (0%). Below this entry. 2–4: 222 products (4%). Below this entry. 4–6: 793 products (15%). Below this entry. 6–8: 689 products (13%). Below this entry. 8–10: 1,036 products (19%). Below this entry. 10–12: 817 products (15%). Below this entry. 12–14: 570 products (10%). Below this entry. 14–16: 243 products (4%). Below this entry. 16–18: 168 products (3%). Below this entry. 18–20: 67 products (1%). Below this entry. 20–22: 47 products (1%). Below this entry. 22–24: 30 products (1%). Below this entry. 24–26: 41 products (1%). Below this entry. 26–28: 32 products (1%). Below this entry. 28–30: 36 products (1%). Below this entry. 30–32: 41 products (1%). Below this entry. 32–34: 47 products (1%). Below this entry. 34–36: 47 products (1%). Below this entry. 36–38: 46 products (1%). Below this entry. 38–40: 47 products (1%). Below this entry. 40–42: 407 products (7%). This entry sits in this band. This product 0 42 every published Salted-snacks 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

5,429 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 60 (98th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
3 products (0%)
2–4
222 products (4%)
4–6
793 products (15%)
6–8
689 products (13%)
8–10
1,036 products (19%)
10–12
817 products (15%)
12–14
570 products (10%)
14–16
243 products (4%)
16–18
168 products (3%)
18–20
67 products (1%)
20–22
47 products (1%)
22–24
30 products (1%)
24–26
41 products (1%)
26–28
32 products (1%)
28–30
36 products (1%)
30–32
41 products (1%)
32–34
47 products (1%)
34–36
47 products (1%)
36–38
46 products (1%)
38–40
47 products (1%)
40 and above
407 products (7%)

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 5,429 Salted-snacks 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 60 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Salad Mix
2
Romaine Lettuce
3
Organic Radicchio
4
Carrot
5
Green Leaf Lettuce
6
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
7
Mayonnaise
8
Soybean Oil
9
Corn Sweetener
10
Whole Egg
11
Egg Yolk
12
Water
13
Dried Vinegar
14
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
15
Calcium Disodium Edta
16
Natural Flavor
17
Buttermilk
18
Sour Cream
19
Cultured Milk
20
Cream
21
Nonfat Milk Powder
22
Gelatin
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Safe GRAS
23
Ranch Mix
24
Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar
25
Garlic Powder
26
Yeast Extract
27
Onion Powder
28
Spices
29
Silicon Dioxide
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT
Safe GRAS
30
Carrageenan
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
Caution GRAS
31
Distilled Vinegar
32
Xanthan Gum
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FORMULATION AID, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Approved
33
Spice
34
Cheddar Cheese Cubes
35
Cheddar Cheese
36
Pasteurized Milk
37
Cheese Culture
38
Enzymes
39
Annatto
Coloring
Certain People Should Avoid
40
Potato Starch And Powdered Cellulose
41
Natamycin
FUMIGANT
Safe Approved
42
Natural Mold Inhibitor
43
White Meat Chicken
44
Chicken Breast With Rib Meat
45
Less Than 2% Rice Starch
46
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
47
Turkey Breast
48
Lemon Juice Concentrate
49
Natural Flavors
50
Paprika
51
Cucumber
52
Red Onion
53
Hard Cooked Eggs
54
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
55
Sodium Benzoate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FUMIGANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
56
Bacon Bits
57
Sodium Phosphate
58
Sodium Erythorbate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DOUGH STRENGTHENER, FLOUR TREATING AGENT, OXIDIZING OR REDUCING AGENT, PROCESSING AID, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT
Safe GRAS
59
Sodium Nitrite
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PROPELLANT
Avoid Prior Sanctioned
60
Grape Tomatoes

Full Ingredient List

Salad mix (romaine lettuce, radicchio, carrot, green leaf lettuce), buttermilk ranch dressing (mayonnaise [soybean oil, corn sweetener, whole egg, egg yolk, water, vinegar, salt, calcium disodium edta, natural flavor], buttermilk, sour cream [cultured milk, cream, nonfat milk powder, gelatin], ranch mix [salt, evaporated cane sugar, garlic powder, yeast extract, onion powder, spices, silicon dioxide, carrageenan], distilled vinegar, water, xanthan gum, spice), cheddar cheese cubes (cheddar cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto {vegetable color}], potato starch and powdered cellulose [to prevent caking], natamycin [a natural mold inhibitor]), white meat chicken (chicken breast with rib meat, water, less than 2% rice starch, salt, sugar, vinegar), turkey breast (turkey breast, water, less than 2% rice starch, lemon juice concentrate, vinegar, sugar, salt, natural flavors, paprika, spices), cucumber, red onion, hard cooked eggs (whole egg, water, citric acid, sodium benzoate), bacon bits (bacon cured with: water, salt, sugar, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite), grape tomatoes.

Categories

Salted-snacks

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Sodium Nitrite is the first flagged ingredient selected from California chef salad's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 60-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Sodium Nitrite. Open Sodium Nitrite
  • Compare California chef salad'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 0046567689524: 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.