Zingers Cake
by Hostess
Contains 3 flagged ingredients
Zingers Cake by Hostess receives a safety score of 35/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. The product contains 3 ingredients 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
Zingers Cake by Hostess carries a composite safety score of 35/100, which we classify as "Avoid" 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 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, Zingers 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 | 35/100 | 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.
Ingredient Safety Analysis
Full Ingredient List
Caramel topping (sugar, water, sweetened condensed milk (milk, sugar), evaporated milk, corn syrup, palm kernel oil, invert sugar, nonfat dry milk, cream, cultured nonfat dry milk, natural flavor, distilled monoglyceride, salt, sodium alginate, soy lecithin, citric acid), coating [sugar, partially hydrogenated oils (palm kernel, coconut and palm), cocoa powder (processed with alkali), distilled monoglycerides, soy lecithin, whey powder, natural and artificial flavor], water, sugar, bleached enriched wheat flour [wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate (iron), thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], animal and vegetable shortening (beef tallow, hydrogenated beef tallow, cottonseed oil), corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup. contains 2% or less of each of the following: mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 60, soy lecithin, modified food starch, soybean oil, whole eggs, baking powder, salt, egg whites, nonfat dry milk, flour, soy flour, modified whey, calcium sodium caseinate, soy protein isolate, corn syrup solids, guar gum, cellulose gum, sorbic acid (to retain freshness), calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, agar, dextrose, disodium phosphate, locust bean gum, natural and artificial flavor, monocalcium phosphate, fumaric acid, corn starch, cellulose gum, confectioners glaze, wheat flour, enzymes, titanium dioxide, carnauba wax, yellow 5, yellow 6.
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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