Caramel crispy bites

by McVitie's

100
Safe
Safety Score (out of 100)

Caramel crispy bites by McVitie's receives a safety score of 100/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. None of the ingredients in this product are flagged for safety concerns by FDA or CSPI databases. Product label data is sourced from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative database. See the full ingredient breakdown and safety assessment below.

Barcode
5000168197418
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed
Serving Size
Per Cake (16g)

What the Data Says About

Caramel crispy bites by McVitie's carries a composite safety score of 100/100, which we classify as "Safe" 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 did not identify any ingredients in this product that FDA SAFFA or CSPI Chemical Cuisine data flags as requiring caution or avoidance at the time of analysis. That is a meaningful clean-label signal, though it does not account for personal allergens, regional recalls, or inspection findings not reflected in federal additive databases. The per-ingredient breakdown below shows the source-level classification for each component.

On the NOVA processing scale, Caramel crispy bites 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.

Safety Profile at a Glance

Composite safety metrics for Caramel crispy bites
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 100/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 0 CSPI/FDA review
NOVA processing group Group 4 OpenFoodFacts
Nutri-Score Not available OpenFoodFacts

Composite metric derived from FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine, OpenFoodFacts. See methodology.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

1
Milk Chocolate
2
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
3
Cocoa Butter
4
Cocoa Mass
5
Dried Skimmed Milk
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
Milk
8
Butter Oil
9
Vegetable Fats
10
Sal
11
Shea
12
Palm
13
Emulsifiers
14
Soya Lecithin
15
E300
16
Flavouring
17
Glucose Syrup
18
Flour
19
Wheat Flour
20
Calcium
21
Iron
22
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
23
Thiamin
24
Vegetable Oil
25
Crisped Cereals
26
Wholemeal Wheat Flour
27
Rice Flour
28
Malted Barley Flour
29
Malted Wheat Flour
30
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
31
Rapeseed
32
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
33
Emulsifier
34
Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup
35
Organic Rolled Oats
36
Humectant
37
Glycerine
38
Caramel
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
GRAS
39
Butter
40
Water
41
Colour
42
Plain Caramel
43
Acidity Regulator
44
Sodium Bicarbonate
EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
GRAS
45
Maltodextrin
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, HUMECTANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Safe GRAS
46
E300
47
Raising Agents
48
Tartaric acid
Preservative
Safe
49
Ammonium Bicarbonate
DOUGH STRENGTHENER, LEAVENING AGENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
50
Oatmeal
51
Glucose-fructose Syrup
52
Product
53
Digestives Biscuit Pieces

Full Ingredient List

Milk Chocolate (30%) [Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Dried Skimmed Milk, Dried Whey (Milk), Butter Oil (Milk), Vegetable Fats (Sal and/or Shea, Palm), Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E476), Natural Flavouring], Glucose Syrup, Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Vegetable Oil (Palm), Crisped Cereals (5%) [Wholemeal Wheat Flour, Rice Flour, Sugar, Malted Barley Flour, Malted Wheat Flour, Salt, Vegetable Oil (Rapeseed), Calcium Carbonate, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin)], Dried Whey (Milk), Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Rolled Oats, Humectant (Glycerine), Sugar, Wholemeal Wheat Flour, Caramel (1.5%) [Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Butter (Milk), Vegetable Oil (Palm), Water, Dried Skimmed Milk, Colour (Plain Caramel), Natural Flavouring, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Bicarbonate)], Maltodextrin, Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E472e), Salt, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Tartaric Acid, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Oatmeal, Natural Flavouring, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Product contains 19% Digestives Biscuit Pieces

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.

Related

Data sourced from official FDA, USDA, and CDC food-safety databases. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFoodSafe Editorial