Caution

Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix & Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Dream

by Duncan Hines

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0644209425389 · Duncan Hines · Cooking helpers. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0644209425389 · Serving size 0.25 PACKAGE DRY MIX & FROSTING (60 g)

The verdict

Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix & Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Dream by Duncan Hines scores 75/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 42 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 1 ingredient is flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 42-component record, beginning with Cake Mix, Sugar, Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour. That density can include amounts and label fragments, so verify the physical label before relying on ingredient order or completeness. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

75/100
Caution safety score
1
One flagged · of 42 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
0644209425389
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.

09425389 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix & Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Dream label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 75/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 42 ing. REG-PART 36% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-UNK Nutri n/a RANK-SHORT Len top 6% LEAD-FLAG Polysorbate 60 PHOTO-FINISH Cotton Candy · ±0 BOOK-OFF …425389 · July 2026

15 of 42 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Polysorbate 60). Source sheet 09425389 · 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.

The declared list is among the longer ones in this catalogue. A component set this wide means the screen returns many individual ratings, and the composite accumulates a large number of small contributions instead of turning on a handful of entries. At this length the per-component table below is substantially more informative than the single figure, because the figure compresses a great deal of variation into one number.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix & Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Dream: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix…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 Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix & Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Dream (75/100 on 42 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

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

Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix & Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Dream
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 4,660 products we've scored in the Cooking helpers category, the average safety score is 90.9/100. Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix & Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Dream scores 15.9 points below that category average (75/100 vs. 90.9/100), 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 Cooking helpers products

Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix & Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Dream lists 42 ingredients on its label

42 94th percentile a longer ingredient list than 94% of the 1,898 products we track

0–2: 36 products (2%). Below this entry. 2–4: 95 products (5%). Below this entry. 4–6: 146 products (8%). Below this entry. 6–8: 252 products (13%). Below this entry. 8–10: 178 products (9%). Below this entry. 10–12: 121 products (6%). Below this entry. 12–14: 148 products (8%). Below this entry. 14–16: 124 products (7%). Below this entry. 16–18: 111 products (6%). Below this entry. 18–20: 107 products (6%). Below this entry. 20–22: 84 products (4%). Below this entry. 22–24: 74 products (4%). Below this entry. 24–26: 58 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 47 products (2%). Below this entry. 28–30: 51 products (3%). Below this entry. 30–32: 42 products (2%). Below this entry. 32–34: 30 products (2%). Below this entry. 34–36: 27 products (1%). Below this entry. 36–38: 19 products (1%). Below this entry. 38–40: 13 products (1%). Below this entry. 40–42: 135 products (7%). This entry sits in this band. This product 0 42 every published Cooking helpers 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

1,898 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 42 (94th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
36 products (2%)
2–4
95 products (5%)
4–6
146 products (8%)
6–8
252 products (13%)
8–10
178 products (9%)
10–12
121 products (6%)
12–14
148 products (8%)
14–16
124 products (7%)
16–18
111 products (6%)
18–20
107 products (6%)
20–22
84 products (4%)
22–24
74 products (4%)
24–26
58 products (3%)
26–28
47 products (2%)
28–30
51 products (3%)
30–32
42 products (2%)
32–34
30 products (2%)
34–36
27 products (1%)
36–38
19 products (1%)
38–40
13 products (1%)
40 and above
135 products (7%)

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 1,898 Cooking helpers 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 42 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Cake Mix
2
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
3
Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour
4
Wheat Flour
5
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
6
Reduced Iron
7
Thiamine Mononitrate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
8
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
9
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
10
Vegetable Oil Shortening
11
Palm Oil
12
Cocoa Powder Processed With Alkali
13
Wheat Starch
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
14
Leavening
15
Baking Soda
16
Dicalcium Phosphate
17
Monocalcium Phosphate
18
Sodium Aluminum Phosphate
19
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
20
Emulsifier
21
Propylene Esters
22
Mono And Diglycerides
23
Sodium stearoyl lactylate
Other
Safe
24
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
25
Red 40
Avoid Approved (certified color)
26
Artificial Flavor
27
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
28
Cellulose Gum
29
Frosting
30
Shortening
31
Canola Oil
32
Mono - And Diglycerides
33
Polysorbate 60
BOILER WATER ADDITIVE, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Caution Approved
34
Water
35
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
36
Corn Starch
37
Modified Food Starch
38
Natural Flavor
39
Preservative
40
Rosemary Extract
41
Potassium Sorbate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT
Safe GRAS
42
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

Full Ingredient List

Cake Mix (Sugar, Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil Shortening (Palm Oil), Cocoa Powder Processed With Alkali, Wheat Starch, Leavening (Baking Soda, Dicalcium Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate), Dextrose, Emulsifier (Propylene Esters, Mono And Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate), Salt, Red 40, Artificial Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Cellulose Gum). Frosting (Sugar, Shortening (Palm Oil, Canola Oil, Mono - And Diglycerides, Polysorbate 60), Water, Contains 2% Or Less Of: Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Modified Food Starch, Natural Flavor, Salt, Preservative (Rosemary Extract, Potassium Sorbate), Citric Acid).

Categories

Cooking helpers Baking Mixes Dessert mixes Pastry helpers Cake mixes

Mid-score cross-brand comparables for Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix & Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Dream

Neighbours outside Duncan Hines near Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix & Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Dream'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

Polysorbate 60 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix & Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Dream's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 42-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Polysorbate 60. Open Polysorbate 60
  • Compare Red Velvet Dream Cake Mix & Cream Cheese Frosting, Red Velvet Dream'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 0644209425389: 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.