Caution

Protein powder

by Quest

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0888849002566 · Quest · Beverages. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0888849002566 · Serving size 1.0 scoop (31.0 g)

The verdict

Protein powder by Quest scores 85/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 13 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 1 ingredient is flagged for caution. This is a focused 13-component label led by Protein Blend, Whey Protein Isolate, Micellar Casein; compare those leading ingredients with the product's processing and nutrition fields before deciding whether it fits your goal. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

85/100
Caution safety score
1
One flagged · of 13 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.

49002566 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Protein powder label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 85/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-FOCUSED 13 ing. REG-PART 31% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-MID Len top 27% LEAD-FLAG Sucralose PHOTO-FINISH Cereal protein bar, · ±0 BOOK-OFF …002566 · July 2026

4 of 13 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Sucralose). Source sheet 49002566 · 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: Cereal protein bar, Waffle · Nearest score peer is Cereal protein bar, Waffle 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.

A mid-length component list was parsed from this label. There are enough separate entries for the screen to match several independently, while each matched entry still carries visible weight in the resulting index. Lists of this size are the most common shape in the catalogue, which makes the composite here easier to place against comparable products than at either extreme.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Protein powder: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Protein powder85/1002. Cereal protein bar, Waffle: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Cereal protein bar, Waffle85/1003. Protein Bar, Pumpkin Pie: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Protein Bar, Pumpkin Pie85/1004. Mint chocolate chunk protein bars: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Mint chocolate chunk prot…85/1005. Protein Bar, Mixed Berry: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Protein Bar, Mixed Berry85/100
High-band neighbours for Protein powder (85/100) outside Quest.
Chart values as text

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

Protein powder
85/100
Cereal protein bar, Waffle
85/100
Protein Bar, Pumpkin Pie
85/100
Mint chocolate chunk protein bars
85/100
Protein Bar, Mixed Berry
85/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 32,623 products we've scored in the Beverages category, the average safety score is 90.5/100. Protein powder scores 5.5 points below that category average (85/100 vs. 90.5/100), 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 Beverages products

Protein powder lists 13 ingredients on its label

13 73rd percentile a longer ingredient list than 73% of the 16,917 products we track

0–2: 161 products (1%). Below this entry. 2–4: 2,220 products (13%). Below this entry. 4–6: 1,699 products (10%). Below this entry. 6–8: 2,564 products (15%). Below this entry. 8–10: 2,835 products (17%). Below this entry. 10–12: 2,099 products (12%). Below this entry. 12–14: 1,442 products (9%). This entry sits in this band. 14–16: 997 products (6%). Above this entry. 16–18: 595 products (4%). Above this entry. 18–20: 402 products (2%). Above this entry. 20–22: 347 products (2%). Above this entry. 22–24: 277 products (2%). Above this entry. 24–26: 256 products (2%). Above this entry. 26–28: 216 products (1%). Above this entry. 28–30: 131 products (1%). Above this entry. 30–32: 66 products (0%). Above this entry. 32–34: 51 products (0%). Above this entry. 34–36: 47 products (0%). Above this entry. 36–38: 43 products (0%). Above this entry. 38–40: 51 products (0%). Above this entry. 40–42: 418 products (2%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published 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

16,917 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 13 (73rd percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
161 products (1%)
2–4
2,220 products (13%)
4–6
1,699 products (10%)
6–8
2,564 products (15%)
8–10
2,835 products (17%)
10–12
2,099 products (12%)
12–14
1,442 products (9%)
14–16
997 products (6%)
16–18
595 products (4%)
18–20
402 products (2%)
20–22
347 products (2%)
22–24
277 products (2%)
24–26
256 products (2%)
26–28
216 products (1%)
28–30
131 products (1%)
30–32
66 products (0%)
32–34
51 products (0%)
34–36
47 products (0%)
36–38
43 products (0%)
38–40
51 products (0%)
40 and above
418 products (2%)

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 16,917 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

Protein blend (whey protein isolate, micellar casein, milk protein isolate), cocoa (processed with alkali), natural flavors. contains less than 2% of the following: sunflower lecithin, xanthan gum, cellulose gum, steviol glycosides (stevia), salt, sucralose.

Categories

Beverages

High-score cross-brand comparables for Protein powder

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

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Sucralose is the first flagged ingredient selected from Protein powder's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 13-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Sucralose. Open Sucralose
  • Compare Protein powder'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 0888849002566: 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.