Italian Cream Cake
by The Cheesecake Factory Bakery
Scores 65/100 on FDA SAFFA + CSPI ingredient analysis - 3 flagged ingredients identified.
The verdict
Italian Cream Cake by The Cheesecake Factory Bakery scores 65/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 81 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 3 ingredients are flagged for caution. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination; check official notices and the product label for current decisions.
- 65/100
- Concern safety score
- 3
- flagged ingredients of 81 analyzed
- Group 4
- Ultra-processed
- E
- 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.
What the Data Says About Italian Cream Cake
Italian Cream Cake by The Cheesecake Factory Bakery carries a composite safety score of 65/100, which we classify as "Concern" 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. This score is a transparent derived index we compute from that public data, not an official FDA rating or endorsement; see the Methodology page for the exact weighting.
Our scan identified 3 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, Italian Cream Cake 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 E 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 | 65/100 | FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite |
| Flagged ingredients | 3 | CSPI/FDA review |
| NOVA processing group | Group 4 | OpenFoodFacts |
| Nutri-Score | E | OpenFoodFacts |
Composite metric derived from FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine, OpenFoodFacts. See methodology.
How It Compares to Its Category
Among the 25,915 products we've scored in the Frozen foods category, the average safety score is 93.3/100. Italian Cream Cake scores 28.3 points below that category average (65/100 vs. 93.3/100), so it is a comparatively weaker pick for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.
Ingredient Safety Analysis
Full Ingredient List
Cake mix (sugar, bleached enriched wheat flour [wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], vegetable shortening [palm oil, mono and diglycerides, polysorbate], whey [milk], modified food starch, sodium aluminum phosphate, baking soda, salt, natural & artificial flavor [contains egg], xanthan gum), cream (nonfat milk, carrageenan, mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 80), eggs, cream cheese (pasteurized cultured milk, cream, salt, stabilizers [xanthan, carob bean, and/or guar gums]), corn oil (fully refined and dewaxed corn oil), non-dairy whipped topping (water, partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, partially hydrogenated coconut oil, carbohydrate gum, polysorbate 60, polyglycerol esters of fatty acids, soy lecithin, artificial flavor, salt, sodium citrate, disodium phosphate, xanthan gum, natural flavor colored with beta carotene), water, mascarpone cheese (pasteurized milk, cream, citric acid), vanilla crunch (bleached wheat flour, sugar, palm oil, salt, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavors, baking soda), sugar, powdered sugar (sugar, cornstarch), lemon juice, lemon zest, flour (enriched bleached wheat flour [niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid]), butter (cream, natural flavoring), vanilla crumb (enriched wheat flour [wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], sugar, palm oil, dextrose, whey, salt, natural & artificial flavor, baking soda), vanilla powder (dextrose, wheat starch, palm oil, natural flavor), pork gelatin, modified food starch, lemon compound (sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice concentrate, water, modified cornstarch, citric acid, lemon flavor, lemon extract, yellow 5, ascorbic acid), vanillin (glucose, water, ethyl alcohol, vanillin, propylene glycol).
Categories
Data Sources
Data as of May 2026. 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.
More from The Cheesecake Factory Bakery
Related
Every figure on PlainFoodSafe is rendered directly from OpenFoodFacts and FDA data, no number is typed in by an editor. Product figures are computed directly from OpenFoodFacts, FDA SAFFA, and CSPI Chemical Cuisine data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.