The cupcake, vanilla
Contains 3 flagged ingredients
The cupcake, vanilla receives a safety score of 45/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. The product contains 3 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
The cupcake, vanilla carries a composite safety score of 45/100, which we classify as "Avoid" 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 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, The cupcake, vanilla 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
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| PlainFoodSafe Score | 45/100 | FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite |
| Flagged ingredients | 3 | 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.
Ingredient Safety Analysis
Full Ingredient List
Cake and icing: powdered sugar (sugar, cornstarch), sugar, enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, eggs, soybean oil, vegetable shortening (high oleic soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, mono - and diglycerides, polysorbate 60), sour cream (cultured milk, cultured cream, whey, food starch-modified, sodium phosphate, potassium sorbate [preservative], guar gum, carrageenan, calcium sulfate, locust bean gum), natural vanilla flavor, baking powder, food starch-modified, whey, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate), salt, sorbitan monostearate, nonfat milk, vital wheat gluten, xanthan gum, guar gum, natural flavor, soy flour, palm oil, glycerin, potassium sorbate (preservative), citric acid (preservative). sprinkles: sugar, cornstarch, palm oil and palm kernel oil, dextrin, soy lecithin, shellac, carnauba wax, fd&c yellow #5, fd&c yellow #6, fd&c blue #1 lake, fd&c red#3, fd&c blue#1.
Categories
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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