Avoid

Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel

by Hostess

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0888109111144 · Hostess · Snacks. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0888109111144 · Serving size 1 CAKE (45 g)

The verdict

Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel by Hostess scores 10/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 70 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 4 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 70-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.

10/100
Avoid safety score
4
Many flagged · of 70 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

13/100

Grade F

Ingredient Safety

10/100

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.

09111144 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel label screening desk

SCORE-AVOID 10/100 FLAG-MANY 4 flagged LEN-DENSE 70 ing. REG-PART 37% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-SHORT Len top 1% LEAD-FLAG Invert Sugar PHOTO-FINISH Iced pumpkin cake · ±0 BOOK-OFF …111144 · July 2026

26 of 70 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Invert Sugar). Source sheet 09111144 · 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: Iced pumpkin cake with creamy filling cupcakes · Nearest score peer is Iced pumpkin cake with creamy filling cupcakes 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 lowest of the four bands. That is where labels land when registry-rated components drive the greater part of the deduction from the index. The band name is drawn from the framework's own scale and is distinct from the ratings the registries themselves assign to individual substances, which are shown per component below. A single heavily rated component and several lightly rated ones can produce the same band, so the component table is the more precise reading of the two.

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. Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel: 10/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Caramel iced yellow cake …10/1002. Iced pumpkin cake with creamy filling cupcakes: 10/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Iced pumpkin cake with cr…10/1003. Blueberry mini bagels, blueberry: 10/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Blueberry mini bagels, bl…10/1004. Sugar Wafers Strawberry: 10/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Sugar Wafers Strawberry10/1005. Giant eagle, glazed decorated cookie: 10/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Giant eagle, glazed decor…10/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel (10/100 on 70 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

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

Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel
10/100
Iced pumpkin cake with creamy filling cupcakes
10/100
Blueberry mini bagels, blueberry
10/100
Sugar Wafers Strawberry
10/100
Giant eagle, glazed decorated cookie
10/100

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. Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel scores 76.1 points below that category average (10/100 vs. 86.1/100), so it is a comparatively weaker pick for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient-list length vs other Snacks products

Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel lists 70 ingredients on its label

70 99th percentile a longer ingredient list than 99% 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: 70 (99th 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 10/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (4 flagged of 70 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
2
Water
3
Bleached Enriched Wheat Flour
4
Wheat Flour
5
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
6
Ferrous Sulfate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
7
Iron
8
Thiamin Mononitrate
9
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
10
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
11
Animal And Vegetable Shortening
12
Tallow
13
Tallow
14
Cottonseed Oil
15
Caramel
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
GRAS
16
Sweetened Condensed Milk
17
Milk
18
Evaporated Milk
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
Palm Kernel Oil
21
Invert Sugar
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER
Cut Back GRAS
22
Nonfat Dry Milk
23
Cream
24
Cultured Nonfat Dry Milk
25
Natural Flavor
26
Distilled Monoglyceride
27
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
28
Sodium Alginate
29
Soy Lecithin
30
Citric Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, ENZYME, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SEQUESTRANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Safe GRAS
31
High-fructose corn syrup
Sweetener
Cut Back
32
Modified Food Starch
33
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
34
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
35
Agar
36
Locust Bean Gum
37
Sunflower Oil
38
Disodium Phosphate
39
Soybean Oil
40
Eggs
41
Baking Soda
42
Corn Syrup Solids
43
Egg Whites
44
Soy Flour
45
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
46
Calcium And Sodium Caseinate
47
Soy Protein Isolate
48
Inulin
Other
Safe
49
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
50
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
51
Guar Gum
52
Cellulose Gum
53
Natural And Artificial Flavor
54
Corn Starch
55
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
56
Mono And Diglycerides
57
Polysorbate 60
BOILER WATER ADDITIVE, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Caution Approved
58
Sodium Stearate
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FORMULATION AID, MASTICATORY SUBSTANCE, PROPELLANT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
Prior Sanctioned
59
Titanium Dioxide
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, HUMECTANT, PROCESSING AID, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TRACER
Avoid Prior Sanctioned
60
Monocalcium Phosphate
61
Fumaric Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, PH CONTROL AGENT
Safe Approved
62
Sea salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
63
Palm Oil Shortening
64
Confectioners Glaze
65
Sorbic Acid And Potassium Sorbate
66
Enzymes
67
Carnauba Wax
68
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
69
Red 40
Avoid Approved (certified color)
70
Blue 1
Caution Approved (certified color)

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

Snacks Sweet snacks Biscuits and cakes Cakes

Lower-score cross-brand comparables for Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel

Neighbours outside Hostess in the same lower screening band as Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel (10/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Hostess; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Invert Sugar is the first flagged ingredient selected from Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 70-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Invert Sugar. Open Invert Sugar
  • Compare Caramel iced yellow cake with salted topping & creamy caramel filling cupcakes, salted caramel's 4 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 0888109111144: 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.