St louis - style pork ribs in a smoky barbecue sauce

95
Safe
Safety Score (out of 100)

Contains 1 flagged ingredient

St louis - style pork ribs in a smoky barbecue sauce receives a safety score of 95/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. The product contains 1 ingredient 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.

Barcode
0085239000878
Nutri-Score
e
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed
Serving Size
5 ONZ (140 g)

What the Data Says About

St louis - style pork ribs in a smoky barbecue sauce carries a composite safety score of 95/100, 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.

Our scan identified 1 flagged ingredient 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, St louis - style pork ribs in a smoky barbecue sauce 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 St louis - style pork ribs in a smoky barbecue sauce
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 95/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 1 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

1
Cooked Pork Spareribs
2
Barbecue Sauce
3
High-fructose corn syrup
Sweetener
Cut Back
4
Vinegar
5
Tomato Paste
6
Modified Food Starch
7
Or Less Of Salt
8
Pineapple Juice Concentrate
9
Natural Smoke Flavor
10
Spices
11
Caramel Coloring
Caution Approved (color additive, GRAS)
12
Sodium Benzoate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FUMIGANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
13
Preservative
14
Molasses
15
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
16
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
17
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
18
Tamarind
19
Natural Flavor
20
Water
21
Seasoning Rub
22
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
23
Paprika
24
Dextrose
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
Cut Back GRAS
25
Garlic Powder
26
Cocoa Powder Processed With Alkali
27
Tamarind Extract
28
Prune Juice Concentrate
29
Extractives Of Tamarind
30
Tartaric acid
Preservative
Safe
31
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
32
Tocopherols
ANTIOXIDANT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
33
Sunflower Oil
34
Natural Flavors
35
Sodium Phosphates
36
Flavoring

Full Ingredient List

Cooked pork spareribs, barbecue sauce (high fructose corn syrup, vinegar, tomato paste, modified food starch, contains 2% or less of salt, pineapple juice concentrate, natural smoke flavor, spices, caramel color, sodium benzoate [preservative], molasses, corn syrup, garlic, sugar, tamarind, natural flavor), water, seasoning rub (sugar, spices, salt, paprika, dextrose, garlic powder, cocoa powder processed with alkali, tamarind extract [corn syrup, prune juice concentrate, extractives of tamarind, water, tartaric acid, caramel color, citric acid, molasses], tocopherols, sunflower oil, natural flavors), sugar, salt, sodium phosphates, flavoring.

Categories

Meals

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.

Related

Data sourced from official FDA, USDA, and CDC food-safety databases. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFoodSafe Editorial