Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel
by Hostess
Contains 4 flagged ingredients
Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel by Hostess receives a safety score of 10/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. The product contains 4 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
Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel by Hostess carries a composite safety score of 10/100, 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 4 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, Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel 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 | 10/100 | FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite |
| Flagged ingredients | 4 | 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
Sugar, water, bleached enriched wheat flour [wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate (iron), thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], animal and vegetable shortening (tallow, hydrogenated tallow, cottonseed oil), caramel (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), high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup. contains 2% or less: soy lecithin, modified food starch, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, agar, locust bean gum, sunflower oil, disodium phosphate, soybean oil, eggs, salt, baking soda, corn syrup solids, egg whites, nonfat dry milk, soy flour, modified whey, calcium and sodium caseinate, soy protein isolate, inulin, whey, dextrose, guar gum, cellulose gum, natural and artificial flavor, corn starch, glycerin, mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 60, sodium stearate, titanium dioxide, monocalcium phosphate, fumaric acid, sea salt, corn starch, palm oil shortening, confectioners glaze, sorbic acid and potassium sorbate (to retain freshness), enzymes, carnauba wax, yellow 5, red 40, blue 1.
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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