Safe

Hershey's, mini cake, chocolate

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0078742165196 · Snacks. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0078742165196 · Serving size 1 CAKE (85 g)

The verdict

Hershey's, mini cake, chocolate scores 90/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 62 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 62-component record, beginning with Sugar, Hershey's Special Dark Syrup, High-fructose corn syrup. 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.

90/100
Safe safety score
2
Few flagged · of 62 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.

Composite profile score

One verdict from three independent sources

53/100

Grade C-

Ingredient Safety

90/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

E

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.

42165196 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Hershey's, mini cake, chocolate label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 90/100 FLAG-FEW 2 flagged LEN-DENSE 62 ing. REG-PART 31% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-SHORT Len top 1% LEAD-FLAG Polysorbate 80 PHOTO-SOLO No peers BOOK-OFF …165196 · July 2026

19 of 62 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Polysorbate 80). Source sheet 42165196 · 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

Within the four-tier shelf-label framework this site publishes, the composite for this product falls in the highest band. That band is defined by a threshold on the derived score alone: it is where labels land once components carrying caution-or-worse registry ratings contribute little or nothing to the deduction. The band is a summary of what the screened registries return for the components that were parsed, so it inherits their coverage gaps — a component absent from both registries neither raises nor lowers the figure. The threshold and the weighting behind it are set out on the methodology page.

Nutri-Score assigned its lowest band to this label. The algorithm reserves that grade for nutrition panels where the values it penalises sit well above the components it credits. The two systems on this page measure genuinely different things: a product can hold this grade while carrying no additive flagged by the registries screened below, and a product graded well can carry several. Neither reading substitutes for the other, and the per-component table is where the additive picture is set out.

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 88,006 products we've scored in the Snacks category, the average safety score is 86.1/100. Hershey's, mini cake, chocolate scores 3.9 points above that category average (90/100 vs. 86.1/100), so it is roughly typical for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient-list length vs other Snacks products

Hershey's, mini cake, chocolate lists 62 ingredients on its label

62 99th percentile a longer ingredient list than 99% of the 81,477 products we track

0–2: 275 products (0%). Below this entry. 2–4: 2,901 products (4%). Below this entry. 4–6: 4,248 products (5%). Below this entry. 6–8: 5,408 products (7%). Below this entry. 8–10: 5,486 products (7%). Below this entry. 10–12: 5,840 products (7%). Below this entry. 12–14: 6,252 products (8%). Below this entry. 14–16: 6,724 products (8%). Below this entry. 16–18: 6,221 products (8%). Below this entry. 18–20: 5,168 products (6%). Below this entry. 20–22: 4,508 products (6%). Below this entry. 22–24: 3,809 products (5%). Below this entry. 24–26: 3,567 products (4%). Below this entry. 26–28: 2,829 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 2,282 products (3%). Below this entry. 30–32: 1,905 products (2%). Below this entry. 32–34: 1,715 products (2%). Below this entry. 34–36: 1,572 products (2%). Below this entry. 36–38: 1,417 products (2%). Below this entry. 38–40: 1,284 products (2%). Below this entry. 40–42: 8,066 products (10%). This entry sits in this band. This product 0 42 every published 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

81,477 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 62 (99th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
275 products (0%)
2–4
2,901 products (4%)
4–6
4,248 products (5%)
6–8
5,408 products (7%)
8–10
5,486 products (7%)
10–12
5,840 products (7%)
12–14
6,252 products (8%)
14–16
6,724 products (8%)
16–18
6,221 products (8%)
18–20
5,168 products (6%)
20–22
4,508 products (6%)
22–24
3,809 products (5%)
24–26
3,567 products (4%)
26–28
2,829 products (3%)
28–30
2,282 products (3%)
30–32
1,905 products (2%)
32–34
1,715 products (2%)
34–36
1,572 products (2%)
36–38
1,417 products (2%)
38–40
1,284 products (2%)
40 and above
8,066 products (10%)

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 81,477 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 90/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (2 flagged of 62 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
2
Hershey's Special Dark Syrup
3
High-fructose corn syrup
Sweetener
Cut Back
4
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
5
Water
6
Cocoa Processed With Alkali
7
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
8
Mono - And Diglycerides
9
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
10
Polysorbate 60
BOILER WATER ADDITIVE, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Caution Approved
11
Artificial Flavor
12
Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour
13
Flour
14
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
15
Reduced Iron
16
Thiamine Mononitrate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
17
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
18
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
19
Eggs
20
Vegetable Shortening
21
Palm Oil
22
Margarine
23
Soybean Oil
24
Annatto Extract
25
For Color
26
Preservative
27
Calcium Disodium Edta
28
Vitamin A Palmitate
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
29
Cultured Buttermilk
30
Cultured Milk
31
Nonfat Milk
32
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
33
Sodium Citrate
34
Locust Bean Gum
35
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
36
Vitamin D3
37
Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar
38
Milk
39
Natural Chocolate
40
Cocoa Butter
41
Milkfat
42
Soy Lecithin
43
Natural Flavor
44
Invert Sugar
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER
Cut Back GRAS
45
Semi-sweet Chocolate Chunks
46
Chocolate Liquor
47
Cream
48
Cellulose Gum
49
Mono - Glycerides
50
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
51
Guar Gum
52
Modified Palm And Palm Kernel Oils
53
Natural And Artificial Flavor
54
Leavening
55
Baking Soda
56
Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DOUGH STRENGTHENER, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FLOUR TREATING AGENT, FORMULATION AID, LEAVENING AGENT, OXIDIZING OR REDUCING AGENT, SEQUESTRANT
GRAS
57
Mono-calcium Phosphate
58
Skim Milk
59
Preservatives
60
Potassium Sorbate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT
Safe GRAS
61
Propylene Glycol
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
62
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

Full Ingredient List

Sugar, hershey's special dark syrup (high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, cocoa processed with alkali, sugar, salt, mono - and diglycerides, xanthan gum, polysorbate 60, artificial flavor), enriched bleached wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), eggs, vegetable shortening (palm oil, mono - and diglycerides, polysorbate 60), margarine (palm oil, water, soybean oil, salt, mono - and diglycerides, artificial flavor, annatto extract [for color], preservative [calcium disodium edta], vitamin a palmitate), cultured buttermilk (cultured milk, nonfat milk, modified cornstarch, sodium citrate, locust bean gum, carrageenan, mono - and diglycerides, salt, vitamin a palmitate, vitamin d3), hershey's milk chocolate bar (sugar, milk, chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin, natural flavor), invert sugar, semi-sweet chocolate chunks (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin, natural flavor, salt), cocoa processed with alkali, contains less than 2% of the following: cream (cream, milk, nonfat milk, carrageenan, cellulose gum, mono - glycerides, polysorbate 80, salt, guar gum), palm and palm kernel oils, modified cornstarch, milk, natural and artificial flavor, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, mono-calcium phosphate), skim milk, soy lecithin, corn syrup, salt, natural flavor, soybean oil, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives (potassium sorbate, propylene glycol), citric acid.

Categories

Snacks Sweet snacks Biscuits and cakes Cakes

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Polysorbate 80 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Hershey's, mini cake, chocolate's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 62-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Polysorbate 80. Open Polysorbate 80
  • Compare Hershey's, mini cake, chocolate'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 0078742165196: 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.