Safe

Chef salad

by Aldi

Open Food Facts label for barcode 4099100100723 · Aldi · Meals. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 4099100100723 · Serving size 1 package (217 g)

The verdict

Chef salad by Aldi scores 95/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 51 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 51-component record, beginning with Iceberg Lettuce, Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Vegetable Oil, Canola. 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.

95/100
Safe safety score
1
One flagged · of 51 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
C
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

65/100

Grade B-

Ingredient Safety

95/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

C

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.

00100723 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Chef salad label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 95/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 51 ing. REG-SPARSE 24% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-C Nutri-C RANK-SHORT Len top 15% LEAD-FLAG Carrageenan PHOTO-FINISH Santa fe style · ±0 BOOK-OFF …100723 · July 2026

12 of 51 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Carrageenan). Source sheet 00100723 · 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: Santa fe style salad · Nearest score peer is Santa fe style salad at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

How Nutri-Score, NOVA, and list length read this record

Within the four-tier shelf-label framework this site publishes, the composite for this product falls in the highest band. That band is defined by a threshold on the derived score alone: it is where labels land once components carrying caution-or-worse registry ratings contribute little or nothing to the deduction. The band is a summary of what the screened registries return for the components that were parsed, so it inherits their coverage gaps — a component absent from both registries neither raises nor lowers the figure. The threshold and the weighting behind it are set out on the methodology page.

Nutri-Score settled on its middle grade here, the band the algorithm produces when the penalty and credit sides of its nutrient ledger come out close to balanced. A mid-scale grade is a statement about the panel as a whole rather than about any single nutrient, and products arrive at it by very different routes: a moderate profile across every term, or high marks on some offset by heavy penalties on others. The grade is computed separately from the ingredient screen below and the two are not comparable measures.

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. Chef salad: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Chef salad95/1002. Santa fe style salad: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Santa fe style salad95/1003. Original Strawberry Yogurt: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Original Strawberry Yogurt95/1004. Pork Burnt Ends: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Pork Burnt Ends95/1005. Santa Fe Style Salad with Chicken: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Santa Fe Style Salad with…95/100
High-band neighbours for Chef salad (95/100) outside Aldi.
Chart values as text

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

Chef salad
95/100
Santa fe style salad
95/100
Original Strawberry Yogurt
95/100
Pork Burnt Ends
95/100
Santa Fe Style Salad with Chicken
95/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 15,626 products we've scored in the Meals category, the average safety score is 93.6/100. Chef salad scores 1.4 points above that category average (95/100 vs. 93.6/100), 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 Meals products

Chef salad lists 51 ingredients on its label

51 85th percentile a longer ingredient list than 85% of the 11,283 products we track

0–2: 12 products (0%). Below this entry. 2–4: 83 products (1%). Below this entry. 4–6: 127 products (1%). Below this entry. 6–8: 209 products (2%). Below this entry. 8–10: 312 products (3%). Below this entry. 10–12: 315 products (3%). Below this entry. 12–14: 412 products (4%). Below this entry. 14–16: 477 products (4%). Below this entry. 16–18: 542 products (5%). Below this entry. 18–20: 552 products (5%). Below this entry. 20–22: 545 products (5%). Below this entry. 22–24: 550 products (5%). Below this entry. 24–26: 552 products (5%). Below this entry. 26–28: 552 products (5%). Below this entry. 28–30: 574 products (5%). Below this entry. 30–32: 517 products (5%). Below this entry. 32–34: 466 products (4%). Below this entry. 34–36: 451 products (4%). Below this entry. 36–38: 443 products (4%). Below this entry. 38–40: 388 products (3%). Below this entry. 40–42: 3,204 products (28%). This entry sits in this band. This product 0 42 every published Meals 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

11,283 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 51 (85th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
12 products (0%)
2–4
83 products (1%)
4–6
127 products (1%)
6–8
209 products (2%)
8–10
312 products (3%)
10–12
315 products (3%)
12–14
412 products (4%)
14–16
477 products (4%)
16–18
542 products (5%)
18–20
552 products (5%)
20–22
545 products (5%)
22–24
550 products (5%)
24–26
552 products (5%)
26–28
552 products (5%)
28–30
574 products (5%)
30–32
517 products (5%)
32–34
466 products (4%)
34–36
451 products (4%)
36–38
443 products (4%)
38–40
388 products (3%)
40 and above
3,204 products (28%)

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 11,283 Meals 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 95/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (1 flagged of 51 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Iceberg Lettuce
2
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Vegetable Oil
3
Canola
4
Soybean Oil
5
Nonfat Buttermilk
6
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
7
Water
8
Skim Milk Powder
9
Corn Starch
10
Tapioca Starch
NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
11
Carrageenan
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
Caution GRAS
12
Locust Bean Gum
13
Culture
14
Egg Yolk
15
Distilled Vinegar
16
Less Than 2% Of Sugar
17
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
18
Green Onion
19
Apple Cider Vinegar
20
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
21
Spices
22
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
23
Onion
24
Skim Milk Powder Blend
25
Sodium Caseinate
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
26
Ground Mustard
27
Guar Gum
28
Pork
29
Sea salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
30
Less Than 2% Cane Sugar
31
Dried Vinegar
32
Cultured Celery Juice Powder
33
Celery Juice Powder
34
Roasted Seasoned Diced Chicken Breast Meat With Rib Meat
35
Chicken Breast Meat With Rib Meat
36
Less Than 2% Rice Starch
37
Lemon Juice Concentrate
38
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
39
Natural Flavors
40
Spice
41
Mild Cheddar Cheese
42
Cheddar Cheese Pasteurized Milk
43
Cheese Culture
44
Enzymes
45
Annatto
Coloring
Certain People Should Avoid
46
Vegetable Color
47
Potato Starch
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
48
Cellulose
Emulsifier
Safe
49
Green Leaf Lettuce
50
Milk
51
Egg

Full Ingredient List

ICEBERG LETTUCE, BUTTERMILK RANCH DRESSING VEGETABLE OIL (CANOLA AND/OR SOYBEAN OIL), NONFAT BUTTERMILK (WHEY, WATER, SKIM MILK POWDER, CORN STARCH, TAPIOCA STARCH, CARRAGEENAN, LOCUST BEAN GUM, CULTURE), WATER, EGG YOLK, DISTILLED VINEGAR, LESS THAN 2% OF SUGAR, SALT, GREEN ONION, APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, DRIED GARLIC, SPICES, XANTHAN GUM, DRIED ONION, SKIM MILK POWDER BLEND (WHEY, SODIUM CASEINATE, SKIM MILK POWDER), GROUND MUSTARD, GUAR GUM), UNCURED HAM NO NITRATES OR NITRITES ADDED EXCEPT THOSE NATURALLY OCCURRING IN SEA SALT AND CULTURED CELERY JUICE POWDER, (PORK, WATER, SEA SALT, LESS THAN 2% CANE SUGAR, VINEGAR, CULTURED CELERY JUICE POWDER (CELERY JUICE POWDER, SEA SALT), ROASTED SEASONED DICED CHICKEN BREAST MEAT WITH RIB MEAT (CHICKEN BREAST MEAT WITH RIB MEAT, WATER, LESS THAN 2% RICE STARCH, VINEGAR, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, SALT, SUGAR, NATURAL FLAVORS, SPICE), MILD CHEDDAR CHEESE (CHEDDAR CHEESE PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES, ANNATTO (VEGETABLE COLOR), POTATO STARCH [TO PREVENT CAKING], POWDERED CELLULOSE [TO PREVENT CAKING]), GREEN LEAF LETTUCE CONTAINS: MILK, EGG.

Categories

Meals Prepared salads

High-score cross-brand comparables for Chef salad

Neighbours outside Aldi with screening scores in the same high band as Chef salad (95/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Aldi; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Carrageenan is the first flagged ingredient selected from Chef salad's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 51-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Carrageenan. Open Carrageenan
  • Compare Chef salad'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 4099100100723: 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.