Café Style Chef Salad
by Dole
Contains 2 flagged ingredients
Café Style Chef Salad by Dole receives a safety score of 80/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. The product contains 2 ingredients that have been flagged for potential safety concerns by regulatory or consumer advocacy databases. Product label data is sourced from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative database. See the full ingredient breakdown and safety assessment below.
What the Data Says About
Café Style Chef Salad by Dole carries a composite safety score of 80/100, which we classify as "Caution" 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.
Our scan identified 2 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, Café Style Chef Salad 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.
Safety Profile at a Glance
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| PlainFoodSafe Score | 80/100 | FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite |
| Flagged ingredients | 2 | 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.
Ingredient Safety Analysis
Full Ingredient List
iceberg lettuce, buttermilk ranch dressing, canola oil, and/or soybean oil, nonfat buttermilk, water, distilled vinegar, egg yolk, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, sugar, salt, garlic, onion, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum, modified food starch, monosodium glutamate, polysorbate 60, spices, artificial flavor, lactic acid, calcium disodium edta, cheddar cheese, pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto, potato starch, powdered cellulose, green leaf lettuce, roasted seasoned diced chicken breast meat with rib meat, chicken breast meat with rib meat, water, seasoning, salt, sugar, chicken broth, maltodextrin, natural flavor, yeast extract, chicken fat, onion powder, garlic powder, spice, chicken powder, grill flavor, modified corn starch, sodium phosphates, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, celery juice powder, honey ham, cured with water, dextrose, salt, contains 2% or less of vinegar, sodium lactate, modified corn starch, sodium phosphates, sodium diacetate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, brown sugar, honey, caramel color, natural smoke flavor, swiss cheese, pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto, potato starch, powdered cellulose, green leaf lettuce
Data Sources
Data as of 2025. 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.
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