Caution

Chocolate Cupcakes

by Hostess

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0888109010010 · Hostess · Snacks. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0888109010010 · Serving size 2 cakes (90 g)

The verdict

Chocolate Cupcakes by Hostess scores 85/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 50 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 50-component record, beginning with Sugar, Water, Bleached Enriched 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.

85/100
Caution safety score
1
One flagged · of 50 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.

Composite profile score

One verdict from three independent sources

50/100

Grade C-

Ingredient Safety

85/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

E

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.

09010010 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Chocolate Cupcakes label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 85/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 50 ing. REG-PART 34% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-SHORT Len top 5% LEAD-FLAG Polysorbate 60 PHOTO-FINISH FROSTED CHOCOLATE CAKE · ±0 BOOK-OFF …010010 · July 2026

17 of 50 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Polysorbate 60). Source sheet 09010010 · 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: FROSTED CHOCOLATE CAKE with creamy filling · Nearest score peer is FROSTED CHOCOLATE CAKE with creamy filling 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.

Nutri-Score assigned its lowest band to this label. The algorithm reserves that grade for nutrition panels where the values it penalises sit well above the components it credits. The two systems on this page measure genuinely different things: a product can hold this grade while carrying no additive flagged by the registries screened below, and a product graded well can carry several. Neither reading substitutes for the other, and the per-component table is where the additive picture is set out.

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. Chocolate Cupcakes: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Chocolate Cupcakes85/1002. FROSTED CHOCOLATE CAKE with creamy filling: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. FROSTED CHOCOLATE CAKE wi…85/1003. POWDERED mini donuts: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. POWDERED mini donuts85/1004. Six Powdered Mini Donuts: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Six Powdered Mini Donuts85/1005. CupCakes: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. CupCakes85/100
High-band neighbours for Chocolate Cupcakes (85/100) outside Hostess.
Chart values as text

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

Chocolate Cupcakes
85/100
FROSTED CHOCOLATE CAKE with creamy filling
85/100
POWDERED mini donuts
85/100
Six Powdered Mini Donuts
85/100
CupCakes
85/100

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. Chocolate Cupcakes scores 1.1 points below that category average (85/100 vs. 86.1/100), 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 Snacks products

Chocolate Cupcakes lists 50 ingredients on its label

50 95th percentile a longer ingredient list than 95% 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%). Below this entry. 26–28: 2,829 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 2,282 products (3%). Below this entry. 30–32: 1,905 products (2%). Below this entry. 32–34: 1,715 products (2%). Below this entry. 34–36: 1,572 products (2%). Below this entry. 36–38: 1,417 products (2%). Below this entry. 38–40: 1,284 products (2%). Below this entry. 40–42: 8,066 products (10%). This entry sits in this band. 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: 50 (95th 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 85/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (1 flagged of 50 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
2
Water
3
Bleached Enriched Wheat Flour
4
Flour
5
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
6
Ferrous Sulfate Or Reduced Iron
7
Thiamin Mononitrate
8
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
9
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
10
High-fructose corn syrup
Sweetener
Cut Back
11
Palm Oil
12
Shortening
13
Tallow
14
Tallow
15
Cottonseed Oil
16
Mono And Diglycerides
17
Polysorbate 60
BOILER WATER ADDITIVE, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Caution Approved
18
Soy Lecithin
19
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
20
Cocoa Processed With Alkali
21
Glycerin
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, HUMECTANT, MASTICATORY SUBSTANCE, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
Safe GRAS
22
Soybean Oil
23
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
24
Chocolate Liquor
25
Calcium Carbonate
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, LEAVENING AGENT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MASTICATORY SUBSTANCE, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID
GRAS
26
Calcium Sulfate
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FORMULATION AID, LEAVENING AGENT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
27
Agar
28
Locust Bean Gum
29
Sunflower Oil
30
Disodium Phosphate
31
Organic Cocoa
32
Corn Starch
33
Baking Soda
34
Corn Starch
35
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
36
Whey
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FORMULATION AID, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
37
Inulin
Other
Safe
38
Eggs
39
Sorbic Acid And Potassium Sorbate
40
Egg Whites
41
Sodium stearoyl lactylate
Other
Safe
42
Natural And Artificial Flavors
43
Sodium Polyphosphate
44
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
45
Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose
46
Enzymes
47
Soy Flour
48
Titanium Dioxide
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, HUMECTANT, PROCESSING AID, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TRACER
Avoid Prior Sanctioned
49
Color
50
Monocalcium Phosphate

Full Ingredient List

sugar, water, bleached enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate or reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), high fructose corn syrup, palm oil, shortening (tallow, hydrogenated tallow, cottonseed oil, mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 60, soy lecithin), corn syrup, cocoa processed with alkali, contains 2% or less: glycerin, soybean oil, mono and diglycerides, soy lecithin, salt, chocolate liquor, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, agar, locust bean gum, sunflower oil, disodium phosphate, cocoa, modified corn starch, baking soda, corn starch, dextrose, whey, inulin, eggs, sorbic acid and potassium sorbate (to retain freshness), egg whites, polysorbate 60, sodium stearoyl lactylate, natural and artificial flavors, sodium polyphosphate, shortening (tallow, hydrogenated tallow), xanthan gum, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, enzymes, soy flour, titanium dioxide (color), monocalcium phosphate,

Categories

Snacks Sweet snacks Biscuits and cakes Cakes

High-score cross-brand comparables for Chocolate Cupcakes

Neighbours outside Hostess with screening scores in the same high band as Chocolate Cupcakes (85/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Hostess; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Polysorbate 60 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Chocolate Cupcakes's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 50-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Polysorbate 60. Open Polysorbate 60
  • Compare Chocolate Cupcakes'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 0888109010010: 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.