Smothered Beef
Contains 1 flagged ingredient
Smothered Beef by Boston Market 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.
What the Data Says About
Smothered Beef by Boston Market 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, Smothered Beef 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 C 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 | 95/100 | FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite |
| Flagged ingredients | 1 | CSPI/FDA review |
| NOVA processing group | Group 4 | OpenFoodFacts |
| Nutri-Score | C | OpenFoodFacts |
Composite metric derived from FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine, OpenFoodFacts. See methodology.
Ingredient Safety Analysis
Full Ingredient List
Water, white bread (unbleached enriched flour [wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], water, milk, sugar, butter [made from milk], wheat gluten, yeast, contains 2% or less of soybean oil, salt, dough conditioners [contains one or more of: sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium stearoyl lactylate, monoglycerides, mono and diglycerides, distilled monoglycerides, calcium peroxide, calcium iodate, datem, ethoxylated mono-and diglycerides, enzymes, ascorbic acid], honey, calcium sulfate, wheat starch, wheat flour, soy lecithin, ammonium sulfate, calcium carbonate, monocalcium phosphate, soy flour, calcium propionate), cooked seasoned beef and modified food starch steak strips (beef, water, modified food starch, salt, dextrose, sodium phosphate), potato flakes and granules (potatoes, mono and diglycerides, sodium acid pyrophosphate, citric acid, freshness preserved with sodium bisulfite, bha and bht), less than 2% of tomato paste, unsalted butter (cream, natural flavor), modified food starch, vegetable base (vegetables [carrots, celery, onion], sugar, maltodextrin, corn oil, salt, cornstarch, autolyzed yeast extract and natural flavorings), beef stock (concentrated beef stock, yeast extract, salt, corn oil), beef broth flavor (beef broth, flavor, salt), beef base (roasted beef and concentrated beef stock, salt, hydrolyzed soy, corn and wheat protein, corn oil, sugar, autolyzed yeast extract, flavorings [contains oleoresin of celery seed], maltodextrin, whey, dextrose, caramel color), milk solids (cream, milkfat, nonfat milk), salt, maltodextrin, granulated onion, granulated sugar, granulated garlic, xanthan gum, spices.
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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