zebra cakes
by Hostess
Scores 80/100 on FDA SAFFA + CSPI ingredient analysis , with 2 flagged ingredients identified.
The verdict
zebra cakes by Hostess scores 80/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 45 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 2 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 45-component record, beginning with Sugar, Corn Syrup, Enriched Bleached 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.
- 80/100
- Caution safety score
- 2
- flagged ingredients of 45 analyzed
- Group 4
- Ultra-processed
- 9064244684786
- Barcode (UPC/EAN)
Computed directly from OpenFoodFacts ingredient data cross-referenced with FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. See our methodology for the scoring formula.
What the Data Says About zebra cakes
zebra cakes by Hostess carries a composite safety score of 80/100, which we classify as "Caution" on our four-tier shelf-label framework.
Of the 45 ingredients parsed from this label, 14 are covered by a regulator or watchdog we screen against (Sorbitan Monostearate, Polysorbate 80, Sorbic Acid and 11 others), with 12 carrying an FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) status and 9 a CSPI Chemical Cuisine rating. The remaining 31 ingredients appear in neither registry, so they neither raise nor lower the score. Each additive rated caution-or-worse penalizes the composite. Product data originates from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative catalog; safety annotations come from federal regulators and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. This score is a transparent derived index we compute from that public data, not an official FDA rating or endorsement; see the Methodology page for the exact weighting.
Our scan identified 2 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, zebra cakes 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.
How the three scores on this page were derived
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.
No Nutri-Score grade is present for this record in the OpenFoodFacts snapshot this page is built from. The nutritional dimension is absent rather than assessed and withheld: the grade depends on a complete declared nutrition panel, and community-contributed records vary in how much of that panel they carry. Nothing about the missing grade implies anything either way about the panel itself. The screen below covers additive ratings only and does not depend on the nutrition figures.
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.
Safety Profile at a Glance
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| PlainFoodSafe Score | 80/100 | FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite |
| Flagged ingredients | 2 | 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-list length vs every product we publish
zebra cakes lists 45 ingredients on its label
45 95th percentile a longer ingredient list than 95% of the 359,392 products we track
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
- 0–2
- 6,017 products (2%)
- 2–4
- 24,515 products (7%)
- 4–6
- 30,975 products (9%)
- 6–8
- 30,947 products (9%)
- 8–10
- 31,570 products (9%)
- 10–12
- 29,866 products (8%)
- 12–14
- 28,397 products (8%)
- 14–16
- 27,399 products (8%)
- 16–18
- 24,531 products (7%)
- 18–20
- 19,104 products (5%)
- 20–22
- 14,716 products (4%)
- 22–24
- 12,256 products (3%)
- 24–26
- 10,853 products (3%)
- 26–28
- 9,356 products (3%)
- 28–30
- 7,948 products (2%)
- 30–32
- 6,771 products (2%)
- 32–34
- 5,945 products (2%)
- 34–36
- 5,283 products (1%)
- 36–38
- 4,549 products (1%)
- 38–40
- 4,084 products (1%)
- 40 and above
- 24,310 products (7%)
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. No category with enough published products was available for this record, so the comparison runs against the whole published catalogue.
Ingredient Safety Analysis
Full Ingredient List
sugar, corn syrup, enriched bleached flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate [vitamin b1], riboflavin [vitamin b2], folic acid), water, palm and palm kernel oil, palm and soybean oils with tbhq and citric acid to protect flavor, dextrose, soybean oil, contains 2% or less of each of the following: soy flour, egg whites, whey (milk), leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate), salt, cocoa, corn starch, sorbitan monostearate, sorbic acid (to preserve freshness), mono - and diglycerides, titanium dioxide, soy lecithin, polysorbate 60, polysorbate 80, natural and artificial flavors, annatto extract, turmeric, potato starch, nut 5 servir serving amount calo total fat satura trans polyun allergy information: contains wheat, soy, egg, milk, may contain peanuts, tree nuts, nouoo, choleste sodium 1 mckee total car mckee foods dietary p,o, box 750 collegedale, tn 37315 total s ©1996 - ©2021 inclu
Other products containing Palm And Soybean Oils With Tbhq And Citric Acid To Protect Flavor
Palm And Soybean Oils With Tbhq And Citric Acid To Protect Flavor is the least common ingredient on this label, appearing in 168 products across the catalog. See its safety profile.
Data Sources
Data as of July 2026. 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
Every figure on PlainFoodSafe is rendered directly from OpenFoodFacts and FDA data, no number is typed in by an editor. Product figures are computed directly from OpenFoodFacts, FDA SAFFA, and CSPI Chemical Cuisine data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026.
