Safe

Digestives Milk Chocolate Flavor coating

by McVitie's

Scores 100/100 on FDA SAFFA + CSPI ingredient analysis , with no flagged ingredients identified.

Barcode 0059290311440 · Serving size 2 cookies (33 g)

The verdict

Digestives Milk Chocolate Flavor coating by McVitie's scores 100/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 31 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 0 ingredients are flagged for caution. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination; check official notices and the product label for current decisions.

100/100
Safe safety score
0
flagged ingredients of 31 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
E
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.

What the Data Says About Digestives Milk Chocolate Flavor coating

Digestives Milk Chocolate Flavor coating by McVitie's 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. 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 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, Digestives Milk Chocolate Flavor coating 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 E 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

Composite safety metrics for Digestives Milk Chocolate Flavor coating
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 E OpenFoodFacts

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

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 94,909 products we've scored in the Snacks category, the average safety score is 87.4/100. Digestives Milk Chocolate Flavor coating scores 12.6 points above that category average (100/100 vs. 87.4/100), so it is a comparatively strong pick for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

1
Wheat Flour
2
Compound Coating
3
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
4
Cocoa Butter
5
Natural Chocolate
6
Skim Milk
7
Whey
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FORMULATION AID, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
8
Butteroil
9
Vegetable Shortening
10
The Following: Shea Oil
11
Illipe Oil
12
Sal Oil
13
Palm Oil
14
Mango Kernel Oil
15
Kokum Oil
16
Soy Lecithin
17
Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate
18
Natural Flavor
19
Whole Wheat Flour
20
Glucose Syrup
21
Tartaric acid
Preservative
Safe
22
Malic Acid
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SYNERGIST
Safe GRAS
23
Leavening
24
Sodium Bicarbonate
EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
GRAS
25
Ammonium Bicarbonate
DOUGH STRENGTHENER, LEAVENING AGENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
26
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
27
Calcium Carbonate
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, LEAVENING AGENT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MASTICATORY SUBSTANCE, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID
GRAS
28
Calcium Sulfate
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FORMULATION AID, LEAVENING AGENT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
29
Reduced Iron
30
Nicotinamide
31
Thiamine Hydrochloride
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS

Full Ingredient List

Wheat flour, compound coating (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, whey, butteroil, vegetable shortening [contains one or more of the following: shea oil, illipe oil, sal oil, palm oil, mango kernel oil, kokum oil], soy lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, natural flavor.) palm oil, whole wheat flour, sugar, glucose syrup, tartaric acid, malic acid, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, ammonium bicarbonate), salt, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, reduced iron, nicotinamide, thiamine hydrochloride.

Categories

Snacks Sweet snacks Biscuits and cakes Biscuits and crackers Biscuits

Data Sources

Data as of May 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 May 2026.