Concern

Yellow icing

by Cake Mate

Scores 55/100 on FDA SAFFA + CSPI ingredient analysis , with 3 flagged ingredients identified.

Barcode 0052100048505 · Serving size 1 tsp (6 g)

The verdict

Yellow icing by Cake Mate scores 55/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 18 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 3 ingredients are flagged for caution. The 18-component label is layered, beginning with Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Soybean. 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.

55/100
Concern safety score
3
flagged ingredients of 18 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
0052100048505
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.

What the Data Says About Yellow icing

Yellow icing by Cake Mate carries a composite safety score of 55/100, which we classify as "Concern" on our four-tier shelf-label framework.

Of the 18 ingredients parsed from this label, 10 are covered by a regulator or watchdog we screen against (Polysorbate 80, Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Sorbate and 7 others), with 8 carrying an FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) status and 8 a CSPI Chemical Cuisine rating. The remaining 8 ingredients appear in neither registry, so they neither raise nor lower the score. Each additive rated caution-or-worse penalizes the composite. Product data originates from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative catalog; safety annotations come from federal regulators and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. This score is a transparent derived index we compute from that public data, not an official FDA rating or endorsement; see the Methodology page for the exact weighting.

Our scan identified 3 flagged ingredients in this product, components that at least one official source has classified as requiring caution, targeted avoidance, or further evaluation. Flagged ingredients are the items most likely to surface in FDA inspection findings, state-level ingredient bans, or outbreak-related recall notices, so the per-ingredient breakdown below is the most useful lens for anyone screening this product for a specific dietary concern.

On the NOVA processing scale, Yellow icing 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.

How the three scores on this page were derived

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.

Safety Profile at a Glance

Composite safety metrics for Yellow icing
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 55/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 3 CSPI/FDA review
NOVA processing group Group 4 OpenFoodFacts
Nutri-Score Not available OpenFoodFacts

Composite metric derived from FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine, OpenFoodFacts. See methodology.

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 2,509 products we've scored in the Baking-decorations category, the average safety score is 65.2/100. Yellow icing scores 10.2 points below that category average (55/100 vs. 65.2/100), 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 Baking-decorations products

Yellow icing lists 18 ingredients on its label

18 77th percentile a longer ingredient list than 77% of the 2,313 products we track

0–2: 13 products (1%). Below this entry. 2–4: 46 products (2%). Below this entry. 4–6: 171 products (7%). Below this entry. 6–8: 322 products (14%). Below this entry. 8–10: 264 products (11%). Below this entry. 10–12: 335 products (14%). Below this entry. 12–14: 252 products (11%). Below this entry. 14–16: 202 products (9%). Below this entry. 16–18: 186 products (8%). Below this entry. 18–20: 161 products (7%). This entry sits in this band. 20–22: 106 products (5%). Above this entry. 22–24: 78 products (3%). Above this entry. 24–26: 69 products (3%). Above this entry. 26–28: 41 products (2%). Above this entry. 28–30: 28 products (1%). Above this entry. 30–32: 13 products (1%). Above this entry. 32–34: 8 products (0%). Above this entry. 34–36: 3 products (0%). Above this entry. 36–38: 3 products (0%). Above this entry. 38–40: 4 products (0%). Above this entry. 40–42: 8 products (0%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Baking-decorations 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

2,313 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 18 (77th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
13 products (1%)
2–4
46 products (2%)
4–6
171 products (7%)
6–8
322 products (14%)
8–10
264 products (11%)
10–12
335 products (14%)
12–14
252 products (11%)
14–16
202 products (9%)
16–18
186 products (8%)
18–20
161 products (7%)
20–22
106 products (5%)
22–24
78 products (3%)
24–26
69 products (3%)
26–28
41 products (2%)
28–30
28 products (1%)
30–32
13 products (1%)
32–34
8 products (0%)
34–36
3 products (0%)
36–38
3 products (0%)
38–40
4 products (0%)
40 and above
8 products (0%)

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 2,313 Baking-decorations 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

1
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
2
Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
3
Soybean
4
Cottonseed
5
Water
6
Corn Syrup
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, HUMECTANT, LEAVENING AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, TEXTURIZER
Cut Back GRAS
7
Cornstarch
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
8
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
9
Cornstarch
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
10
Mono - And Diglycerides
11
Natural & Artificial Flavor
12
Titanium Dioxide
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, HUMECTANT, PROCESSING AID, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TRACER
Avoid Prior Sanctioned
13
Color
14
Potassium Sorbate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT
Safe GRAS
15
Preservative
16
Polysorbate 80
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Caution Approved
17
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
18
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)

Full Ingredient List

Sugar, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (soybean, cottonseed), water, corn syrup, modified cornstarch, salt, cornstarch, mono - and diglycerides, natural & artificial flavor, titanium dioxide (color), potassium sorbate (preservative), polysorbate 80, citric acid, yellow 5 lake.

Categories

Baking-decorations

Data Sources

Data as of July 2026. 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.

Product data from Open Food Facts; additive safety from the FDA SAFFA inventory and CSPI Chemical Cuisine. See our methodology for details. Compiled by PlainFoodSafe

Every figure on PlainFoodSafe is rendered directly from OpenFoodFacts and FDA data, no number is typed in by an editor. Product figures are computed directly from OpenFoodFacts, FDA SAFFA, and CSPI Chemical Cuisine data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026.

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