Avoid

DIET MOUNTAIN DEW

by Mountain Dew

Open Food Facts label for barcode 01216606 · Mountain Dew · Beverages. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 01216606 · Serving size 12 FL Oz (355 mL)

The verdict

DIET MOUNTAIN DEW by Mountain Dew scores 30/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 17 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 4 ingredients are flagged for caution. The 17-component label is layered, beginning with Carbonated Water, Concentrated Orange Juice, Citric Acid. Start with any flagged rows, then check the nutrition grade and serving size instead of treating one roll-up score as the whole decision. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

30/100
Avoid safety score
4
Many flagged · of 17 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
C
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

33/100

Grade F

Ingredient Safety

30/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

C

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.

01216606 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

DIET MOUNTAIN DEW label screening desk

SCORE-AVOID 30/100 FLAG-MANY 4 flagged LEN-LAYERED 17 ing. REG-PART 53% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-C Nutri-C RANK-SHORT Len top 15% LEAD-FLAG Aspartame PHOTO-FINISH Montain Dew · ±0 BOOK-OFF …216606 · July 2026

9 of 17 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Aspartame). Source sheet 01216606 · 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 · Read with nearest score peer: Montain Dew · Nearest score peer is Montain Dew at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

How Nutri-Score, NOVA, and list length read this record

The composite for this product falls in the lowest of the four bands. That is where labels land when registry-rated components drive the greater part of the deduction from the index. The band name is drawn from the framework's own scale and is distinct from the ratings the registries themselves assign to individual substances, which are shown per component below. A single heavily rated component and several lightly rated ones can produce the same band, so the component table is the more precise reading of the two.

Nutri-Score settled on its middle grade here, the band the algorithm produces when the penalty and credit sides of its nutrient ledger come out close to balanced. A mid-scale grade is a statement about the panel as a whole rather than about any single nutrient, and products arrive at it by very different routes: a moderate profile across every term, or high marks on some offset by heavy penalties on others. The grade is computed separately from the ingredient screen below and the two are not comparable measures.

A mid-length component list was parsed from this label. There are enough separate entries for the screen to match several independently, while each matched entry still carries visible weight in the resulting index. Lists of this size are the most common shape in the catalogue, which makes the composite here easier to place against comparable products than at either extreme.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. DIET MOUNTAIN DEW: 30/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. DIET MOUNTAIN DEW30/1002. Montain Dew: 30/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Montain Dew30/1003. ICED COFFEE: 30/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. ICED COFFEE30/1004. Orbit sweet mint gum: 30/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Orbit sweet mint gum30/1005. ORBIT SPEARMINT GUM: 30/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. ORBIT SPEARMINT GUM30/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for DIET MOUNTAIN DEW (30/100 on 17 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

Unit: PlainFoodSafe screening score out of 100. Data current as of July 2026.

DIET MOUNTAIN DEW
30/100
Montain Dew
30/100
ICED COFFEE
30/100
Orbit sweet mint gum
30/100
ORBIT SPEARMINT GUM
30/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 32,623 products we've scored in the Beverages category, the average safety score is 90.5/100. DIET MOUNTAIN DEW scores 60.5 points below that category average (30/100 vs. 90.5/100), so it is a comparatively weaker pick for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient-list length vs other Beverages products

DIET MOUNTAIN DEW lists 17 ingredients on its label

17 85th percentile a longer ingredient list than 85% of the 16,917 products we track

0–2: 161 products (1%). Below this entry. 2–4: 2,220 products (13%). Below this entry. 4–6: 1,699 products (10%). Below this entry. 6–8: 2,564 products (15%). Below this entry. 8–10: 2,835 products (17%). Below this entry. 10–12: 2,099 products (12%). Below this entry. 12–14: 1,442 products (9%). Below this entry. 14–16: 997 products (6%). Below this entry. 16–18: 595 products (4%). This entry sits in this band. 18–20: 402 products (2%). Above this entry. 20–22: 347 products (2%). Above this entry. 22–24: 277 products (2%). Above this entry. 24–26: 256 products (2%). Above this entry. 26–28: 216 products (1%). Above this entry. 28–30: 131 products (1%). Above this entry. 30–32: 66 products (0%). Above this entry. 32–34: 51 products (0%). Above this entry. 34–36: 47 products (0%). Above this entry. 36–38: 43 products (0%). Above this entry. 38–40: 51 products (0%). Above this entry. 40–42: 418 products (2%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Beverages 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

16,917 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 17 (85th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
161 products (1%)
2–4
2,220 products (13%)
4–6
1,699 products (10%)
6–8
2,564 products (15%)
8–10
2,835 products (17%)
10–12
2,099 products (12%)
12–14
1,442 products (9%)
14–16
997 products (6%)
16–18
595 products (4%)
18–20
402 products (2%)
20–22
347 products (2%)
22–24
277 products (2%)
24–26
256 products (2%)
26–28
216 products (1%)
28–30
131 products (1%)
30–32
66 products (0%)
32–34
51 products (0%)
34–36
47 products (0%)
36–38
43 products (0%)
38–40
51 products (0%)
40 and above
418 products (2%)

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 16,917 Beverages products we publish with a parsed label, not against the whole catalogue, because list length varies far more between categories than within one.

Full Ingredient List

Carbonated water, concentrated orange juice, citric acid, natural flavor, potassium benzoate (preserves freshness), citrus pectin, aspartame, potassium citrate, caffeine, sodium citrate, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, gum Arabic, sodium Benzoate (preserves freshness), calcium disodium EDTA (to protect flavor), yellow 5.

Categories

Beverages Carbonated drinks Artificially sweetened beverages Sodas Diet beverages Diet sodas

Lower-score cross-brand comparables for DIET MOUNTAIN DEW

Neighbours outside Mountain Dew in the same lower screening band as DIET MOUNTAIN DEW (30/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Mountain Dew; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Aspartame is the first flagged ingredient selected from DIET MOUNTAIN DEW's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 17-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Aspartame. Open Aspartame
  • Compare DIET MOUNTAIN DEW's 4 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 01216606: 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.