Caution

Duncan hines, signature cake mix, red velvet

by Duncan Hines

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0644209412006 · Duncan Hines · Snacks. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0644209412006 · Serving size 0.083 PACKAGE (39 g)

The verdict

Duncan hines, signature cake mix, red velvet by Duncan Hines scores 75/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 25 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 1 ingredient is flagged for caution. The 25-component label is layered, beginning with Sugar, Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour, Flour. 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.

75/100
Caution safety score
1
One flagged · of 25 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
0644209412006
Barcode (UPC/EAN)

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

75/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

N/A

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.

09412006 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Duncan hines, signature cake mix, red velvet label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 75/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-LAYERED 25 ing. REG-PART 44% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-UNK Nutri n/a RANK-MID Len top 28% LEAD-FLAG Red 40 PHOTO-FINISH Cotton Candy · ±0 BOOK-OFF …412006 · July 2026

11 of 25 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Red 40). Source sheet 09412006 · 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: Cotton Candy · Nearest score peer is Cotton Candy 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 second band of the four-tier framework. That band collects labels whose registry-rated components pull the derived score down measurably without dominating it. Position inside a band is not visible from the band name, and two labels sharing it can differ in how many components were rated and how severely. This is a threshold on an index computed here from public data, not a regulatory classification of any kind; the exact cut-offs are published on the methodology page.

No Nutri-Score grade is present for this record in the OpenFoodFacts snapshot this page is built from. The nutritional dimension is absent rather than assessed and withheld: the grade depends on a complete declared nutrition panel, and community-contributed records vary in how much of that panel they carry. Nothing about the missing grade implies anything either way about the panel itself. The screen below covers additive ratings only and does not depend on the nutrition figures.

This label parsed into a long component list. Where many entries are screened at once, the composite tends to reflect the overall mix of registry ratings returned rather than the rating of any one entry. Longer declarations also carry more sub-listed and compound entries, where a parenthetical group is resolved into its parts, so the parsed count can exceed what a reader counts on the packaging.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Duncan hines, signature cake mix, red velvet: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Duncan hines, signature c…75/1002. Cotton Candy: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Cotton Candy75/1003. Minipops: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Minipops75/1004. Lollipops Pop Set: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Lollipops Pop Set75/1005. Truly good foods, sweet heat: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Truly good foods, sweet h…75/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Duncan hines, signature cake mix, red velvet (75/100 on 25 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

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

Duncan hines, signature cake mix, red velvet
75/100
Cotton Candy
75/100
Minipops
75/100
Lollipops Pop Set
75/100
Truly good foods, sweet heat
75/100

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. Duncan hines, signature cake mix, red velvet scores 11.1 points below that category average (75/100 vs. 86.1/100), 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 Snacks products

Duncan hines, signature cake mix, red velvet lists 25 ingredients on its label

25 72nd percentile a longer ingredient list than 72% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 26–28: 2,829 products (3%). Above this entry. 28–30: 2,282 products (3%). Above this entry. 30–32: 1,905 products (2%). Above this entry. 32–34: 1,715 products (2%). Above this entry. 34–36: 1,572 products (2%). Above this entry. 36–38: 1,417 products (2%). Above this entry. 38–40: 1,284 products (2%). Above this entry. 40–42: 8,066 products (10%). Above this entry. 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: 25 (72nd 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 75/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (1 flagged of 25 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
2
Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour
3
Flour
4
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
5
Reduced Iron
6
Thiamine Mononitrate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
7
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
8
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
9
Vegetable Oil Shortening
10
Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
11
Propyleneglycol Mono - And Diesters Of Fats
12
Mono - And Diglycerides
13
Cocoa Powder Processed With Alkali
14
Leavening
15
Sodium Bicarbonate
EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
GRAS
16
Dicalcium Phosphate
17
Sodium Aluminum Phosphate
18
Monocalcium Phosphate
19
Wheat Starch
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
20
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
21
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
22
Colored With
23
Red 40
Avoid Approved (certified color)
24
Cellulose Gum
25
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

Full Ingredient List

Sugar, enriched bleached wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), vegetable oil shortening (partially hydrogenated soybean oil, propyleneglycol mono - and diesters of fats, mono - and diglycerides), cocoa powder processed with alkali, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, dicalcium phosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate). contains 2% or less of: wheat starch, salt, dextrose, colored with (red 40), cellulose gum, xanthan gum.

Categories

Snacks Sweet snacks Biscuits and cakes Cakes Cooking helpers Dessert mixes Pastry helpers Baking Mixes Cake mixes

Mid-score cross-brand comparables for Duncan hines, signature cake mix, red velvet

Neighbours outside Duncan Hines near Duncan hines, signature cake mix, red velvet's mid-band score (75/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Duncan Hines; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Red 40 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Duncan hines, signature cake mix, red velvet's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 25-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Red 40. Open Red 40
  • Compare Duncan hines, signature cake mix, red velvet's 1 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 0644209412006: 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.