Santa fe-style chopped salad
Contains 2 flagged ingredients
Santa fe-style chopped salad receives a safety score of 70/100 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
Santa fe-style chopped salad carries a composite safety score of 70/100, 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, Santa fe-style chopped 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. The Nutri-Score grade of A 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 | 70/100 | FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite |
| Flagged ingredients | 2 | CSPI/FDA review |
| NOVA processing group | Group 4 | OpenFoodFacts |
| Nutri-Score | A | OpenFoodFacts |
Composite metric derived from FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine, OpenFoodFacts. See methodology.
Ingredient Safety Analysis
Full Ingredient List
Salad: green cabbage, romaine lettuce, carrots, green onion, cilantro, dressing: low fat buttermilk (skim milk, whey, water, skim milk solids, whey solids, corn starch, tapioca starch, disodium phosphate, carrageenan gum, locust bean gum, culture), canola oil, water, avocado pulp, non fat sour cream (cultured skim milk, corn starch, tapioca starch, carrageenan gum, locust bean gum), maltodextrin, egg yolk, sugar, salt, distilled vinegar, cider vinegar, natural flavors, modified corn starch, dried onion, xanthan gum, carrageenan gum, dried garlic, soy sauce (water, wheat, soybeans, salt, lactic acid), cultured dextrose, spice, dried green onion, lactic acid, yellow 5 & 6, blue 1, calcium disodium edta (added to protect quality), chicken: chicken breast with rib meat, less than 2% soy protein concentrate, sodium lactate, salt, modified food starch, carrageenan, sodium phosphate, cheese: monterey jack and queso quesadilla cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), asadero and cheddar cheese pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto (vegetable color)], potato starch and powdered cellulose (to prevent caking), natamycin (a natural mold inhibitor), chili lemon corn sticks: yellow corn masa, soybean oil, chili lemon seasoning [maltodextrin, salt, paprika (color) and other spices, citric acid, onion powder, tomato powder, garlic powder, natural flavor, chili pepper, cocoa powder (with alkali), paprika extract (color), partially hydrogenated soybean oil], pepitas: pumpkin seeds, spicy seasoning [salt, ground chili peppers, grown cayenne peppers, spice extractives, torula yeast, natural flavors, silicon dioxide (less than 2% to prevent caking)], vegetable oil (may contain one or more of the following: peanut oil, canola oil, sunflower oil and/or soybean oil).
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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