Safe

plant-based meatballs

by Gardein

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0842234000971 · Gardein · Plant-based foods and beverages. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0842234000971 · Serving size 3 meatballs (90 g)

The verdict

plant-based meatballs by Gardein scores 100/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 31 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 0 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 31-component record, beginning with Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Vital Wheat Gluten. 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.

100/100
Safe safety score
0
None flagged · of 31 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
A
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

78/100

Grade B+

Ingredient Safety

100/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

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.

34000971 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

plant-based meatballs label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 100/100 FLAG-CLEAN 0 flagged LEN-DENSE 31 ing. REG-SPARSE 26% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-A Nutri-A RANK-SHORT Len top 8% LEAD-RARE Wheat Starch PHOTO-FINISH Spanish Green Olives · ±0 BOOK-OFF …000971 · July 2026

8 of 31 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Wheat Starch). Source sheet 34000971 · 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: Spanish Green Olives Stuffed With Minced Pimiento · Nearest score peer is Spanish Green Olives Stuffed With Minced Pimiento at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

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

Within the four-tier shelf-label framework this site publishes, the composite for this product falls in the highest band. That band is defined by a threshold on the derived score alone: it is where labels land once components carrying caution-or-worse registry ratings contribute little or nothing to the deduction. The band is a summary of what the screened registries return for the components that were parsed, so it inherits their coverage gaps — a component absent from both registries neither raises nor lowers the figure. The threshold and the weighting behind it are set out on the methodology page.

Nutri-Score placed this label in its highest band. The model reaches that grade when the credit side of its ledger — fibre, protein and the fruit, vegetable and legume fraction — outweighs the energy, sugar, saturated-fat and sodium it counts against a product. The scale is computed per hundred grams from the declared nutrition panel, which is why two products with similar ingredients can grade differently on portion-heavy categories. It is a nutritional summary only, calculated independently of the additive registries screened further down this page, and it neither incorporates nor contradicts them.

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. plant-based meatballs: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. plant-based meatballs100/1002. Spanish Green Olives Stuffed With Minced Pimiento: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Spanish Green Olives Stuf…100/1003. Mario Fongo, Corn Breadstick: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Mario Fongo, Corn Breadst…100/1004. Mario fongo, whole wheat: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Mario fongo, whole wheat100/1005. Plant-Based Saus'ge Gumbo Soup: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Plant-Based Saus'ge Gumbo…100/100
High-band neighbours for plant-based meatballs (100/100) outside Gardein.
Chart values as text

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

plant-based meatballs
100/100
Spanish Green Olives Stuffed With Minced Pimiento
100/100
Mario Fongo, Corn Breadstick
100/100
Mario fongo, whole wheat
100/100
Plant-Based Saus'ge Gumbo Soup
100/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 78,450 products we've scored in the Plant-based foods and beverages category, the average safety score is 97.7/100. plant-based meatballs scores 2.3 points above that category average (100/100 vs. 97.7/100), so it is roughly typical for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient-list length vs other Plant-based foods and beverages products

plant-based meatballs lists 31 ingredients on its label

31 92nd percentile a longer ingredient list than 92% of the 63,434 products we track

0–2: 3,907 products (6%). Below this entry. 2–4: 7,921 products (12%). Below this entry. 4–6: 8,845 products (14%). Below this entry. 6–8: 7,032 products (11%). Below this entry. 8–10: 6,320 products (10%). Below this entry. 10–12: 4,190 products (7%). Below this entry. 12–14: 3,449 products (5%). Below this entry. 14–16: 3,051 products (5%). Below this entry. 16–18: 2,493 products (4%). Below this entry. 18–20: 2,053 products (3%). Below this entry. 20–22: 1,808 products (3%). Below this entry. 22–24: 1,758 products (3%). Below this entry. 24–26: 1,623 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 1,606 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 1,360 products (2%). Below this entry. 30–32: 1,198 products (2%). This entry sits in this band. 32–34: 1,081 products (2%). Above this entry. 34–36: 901 products (1%). Above this entry. 36–38: 649 products (1%). Above this entry. 38–40: 534 products (1%). Above this entry. 40–42: 1,655 products (3%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Plant-based foods and 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

63,434 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 31 (92nd percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
3,907 products (6%)
2–4
7,921 products (12%)
4–6
8,845 products (14%)
6–8
7,032 products (11%)
8–10
6,320 products (10%)
10–12
4,190 products (7%)
12–14
3,449 products (5%)
14–16
3,051 products (5%)
16–18
2,493 products (4%)
18–20
2,053 products (3%)
20–22
1,808 products (3%)
22–24
1,758 products (3%)
24–26
1,623 products (3%)
26–28
1,606 products (3%)
28–30
1,360 products (2%)
30–32
1,198 products (2%)
32–34
1,081 products (2%)
34–36
901 products (1%)
36–38
649 products (1%)
38–40
534 products (1%)
40 and above
1,655 products (3%)

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 63,434 Plant-based foods and 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

water, soy protein concentrate*, vital wheat gluten*, soy protein isolate*, expeller pressed canola oil*, enriched wheat flour* (niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), modified vegetable gum, spices, dehydrated onion, yeast extract, malted barley extract, sea salt, organic cane sugar, dehydrated garlic, natural flavors (from plant sources), vinegar, molasses, pea protein, carrot fiber, beetroot fiber, wheat starch*, soy lecithin*, extractive of paprika, extractive of turmeric, extractives of annatto,

Categories

Plant-based foods and beverages Plant-based foods Frozen foods Meats and their products Beef and its products Meat preparations Meats Meat alternatives Frozen meats Meat analogues Beef preparations Meat balls Beef meat balls

High-score cross-brand comparables for plant-based meatballs

Neighbours outside Gardein with screening scores in the same high band as plant-based meatballs (100/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Gardein; these peers cross brands.

Read the longer label in layers

Read the longer label in layers

plant-based meatballs has a longer ingredient list than 92% of its Plant-based foods and beverages category comparison set. Use the ingredient table before relying on its single screening score.

This page describes published ingredient-list and source coverage. It is not dietary or medical advice.

Barcode 0842234000971: 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.