Caution

Bouillon cubes

by Knorr

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0048001209381 · Knorr · Condiments. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0048001209381 · Serving size 0.5 cube (6 g)

The verdict

Bouillon cubes by Knorr scores 80/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 27 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 2 ingredients are flagged for caution. The 27-component label is layered, beginning with Salt, Palm Oil, Msg. Start with any flagged rows, then check the nutrition grade and serving size instead of treating one roll-up score as the whole decision. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

80/100
Caution safety score
2
Few flagged · of 27 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
0048001209381
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

57/100

Grade C

Ingredient Safety

80/100

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.

01209381 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Bouillon cubes label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 80/100 FLAG-FEW 2 flagged LEN-LAYERED 27 ing. REG-PART 41% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-UNK Nutri n/a RANK-SHORT Len top 9% LEAD-FLAG TBHQ PHOTO-FINISH Maggi, bouillon cubes, · ±0 BOOK-OFF …209381 · July 2026

11 of 27 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: TBHQ). Source sheet 01209381 · 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: Maggi, bouillon cubes, vegetable · Nearest score peer is Maggi, bouillon cubes, vegetable 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.

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.

This label parsed into a long component list. Where many entries are screened at once, the composite tends to reflect the overall mix of registry ratings returned rather than the rating of any one entry. Longer declarations also carry more sub-listed and compound entries, where a parenthetical group is resolved into its parts, so the parsed count can exceed what a reader counts on the packaging.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Bouillon cubes: 80/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Bouillon cubes80/1002. Maggi, bouillon cubes, vegetable: 80/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Maggi, bouillon cubes, ve…80/1003. Bouillon Cubes, Beef: 80/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Bouillon Cubes, Beef80/1004. Special K Protein Shake: 80/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Special K Protein Shake80/1005. Beef flavor bouillon: 80/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Beef flavor bouillon80/100
High-band neighbours for Bouillon cubes (80/100) outside Knorr.
Chart values as text

Unit: PlainFoodSafe screening score out of 100. Data current as of July 2026.

Bouillon cubes
80/100
Maggi, bouillon cubes, vegetable
80/100
Bouillon Cubes, Beef
80/100
Special K Protein Shake
80/100
Beef flavor bouillon
80/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 31,268 products we've scored in the Condiments category, the average safety score is 98.3/100. Bouillon cubes scores 18.3 points below that category average (80/100 vs. 98.3/100), 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 Condiments products

Bouillon cubes lists 27 ingredients on its label

27 91st percentile a longer ingredient list than 91% of the 27,084 products we track

0–2: 186 products (1%). Below this entry. 2–4: 1,031 products (4%). Below this entry. 4–6: 1,392 products (5%). Below this entry. 6–8: 2,093 products (8%). Below this entry. 8–10: 2,811 products (10%). Below this entry. 10–12: 3,070 products (11%). Below this entry. 12–14: 2,818 products (10%). Below this entry. 14–16: 2,724 products (10%). Below this entry. 16–18: 2,451 products (9%). Below this entry. 18–20: 2,045 products (8%). Below this entry. 20–22: 1,563 products (6%). Below this entry. 22–24: 1,244 products (5%). Below this entry. 24–26: 934 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 694 products (3%). This entry sits in this band. 28–30: 551 products (2%). Above this entry. 30–32: 420 products (2%). Above this entry. 32–34: 246 products (1%). Above this entry. 34–36: 196 products (1%). Above this entry. 36–38: 135 products (0%). Above this entry. 38–40: 134 products (0%). Above this entry. 40–42: 346 products (1%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Condiments 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

27,084 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 27 (91st percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
186 products (1%)
2–4
1,031 products (4%)
4–6
1,392 products (5%)
6–8
2,093 products (8%)
8–10
2,811 products (10%)
10–12
3,070 products (11%)
12–14
2,818 products (10%)
14–16
2,724 products (10%)
16–18
2,451 products (9%)
18–20
2,045 products (8%)
20–22
1,563 products (6%)
22–24
1,244 products (5%)
24–26
934 products (3%)
26–28
694 products (3%)
28–30
551 products (2%)
30–32
420 products (2%)
32–34
246 products (1%)
34–36
196 products (1%)
36–38
135 products (0%)
38–40
134 products (0%)
40 and above
346 products (1%)

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 27,084 Condiments 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 27 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

Full Ingredient List

Salt, palm oil, monosodium glutamate, corn starch, hydrolyzed corn protein, sugar, cooked chicken powder, chicken fat (with rosemary extract to protect quality), onion powder, water, maltodextrin, garlic powder, turmeric (for color), caramel color, dehydrated parsley, citric acid, disodium inosinate, celery seed, spice, silicon dioxide, natural and artificial flavor, autolyzed yeast extract, succinic acid, tbhq (to protect quality), thiamine hydrochloride.

Categories

Condiments Groceries

High-score cross-brand comparables for Bouillon cubes

Neighbours outside Knorr with screening scores in the same high band as Bouillon cubes (80/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Knorr; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

TBHQ is the first flagged ingredient selected from Bouillon cubes's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 27-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to TBHQ. Open TBHQ
  • Compare Bouillon cubes'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 0048001209381: 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.