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FAVORITE DAY · 0/100 · Not approved
9 not-approved ingredients detected; 11 banned in at least one country
| Ingredient | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Enriched Wheat Flour | Caution | Refined flour stripped of bran/germ and fortified with synthetic vitamins to replace lost nutrients. |
| Sugar (Refined) | Caution | Refined sucrose, typically from sugarcane or sugar beet; minimally processed but a refined sweetener. |
| Soybean Oil | Not approved | Industrial seed oil, high in oxidation-prone linoleic acid; typically hexane-extracted. |
| Natural Flavor | Caution | Regulatory category that allows solvent extraction and undisclosed processing aids. Lack of transparency. |
| Corn Syrup | Caution | Refined glucose syrup from corn starch. |
| High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) | Not approved | Industrially produced via enzymatic conversion of corn starch; strongly associated with metabolic dysfunction. |
| Artificial Flavor | Not approved | Undisclosed synthetic flavoring compounds; no transparency about composition. |
| Polysorbate 60 | Caution | Synthetic surfactant. |
| Titanium Dioxide | Not approved | Banned as a food additive across the EU in 2022 after EFSA could not rule out genotoxicity from nanoparticles. |
| Potassium Sorbate | Caution | Generally regarded as safe but may cause skin reactions; one of the better-tolerated synthetic preservatives. |
| Yellow 5 (Tartrazine) | Not approved | Synthetic azo dye associated with hyperactivity in sensitive children; mandatory warning label in the EU. |
| Red 40 (Allura Red AC) | Not approved | Synthetic azo dye linked in studies to hyperactivity in children. Mandatory warning label in the EU. |
| Red 3 (Erythrosine) | Not approved | Banned from US food (Jan 2025) and cosmetics (1990) after rat studies linked it to thyroid tumors. |
| Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) | Caution | Emulsifier shown in 2022 NIH study to alter gut microbiota in humans. |
| Yellow 6 (Sunset Yellow FCF) | Not approved | Synthetic azo dye; mandatory warning label in the EU and was banned outright in Norway and Finland for decades. |
| Blue 1 (Brilliant Blue FCF) | Not approved | Synthetic triarylmethane dye; was banned in France, Norway and Finland until 2008 EU harmonization. |
100 − 50×9 − 10×7 − 5×0 = 0
| Reason | Points | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Soybean Oil | -50 | Industrial seed oil, high in oxidation-prone linoleic acid; typically hexane-extracted. |
| High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) | -50 | Industrially produced via enzymatic conversion of corn starch; strongly associated with metabolic dysfunction. |
| Artificial Flavor | -50 | Undisclosed synthetic flavoring compounds; no transparency about composition. |
| Titanium Dioxide | -50 | Banned as a food additive across the EU in 2022 after EFSA could not rule out genotoxicity from nanoparticles. |
| Yellow 5 (Tartrazine) | -50 | Synthetic azo dye associated with hyperactivity in sensitive children; mandatory warning label in the EU. |
| Red 40 (Allura Red AC) | -50 | Synthetic azo dye linked in studies to hyperactivity in children. Mandatory warning label in the EU. |
| Red 3 (Erythrosine) | -50 | Banned from US food (Jan 2025) and cosmetics (1990) after rat studies linked it to thyroid tumors. |
| Yellow 6 (Sunset Yellow FCF) | -50 | Synthetic azo dye; mandatory warning label in the EU and was banned outright in Norway and Finland for decades. |
| Blue 1 (Brilliant Blue FCF) | -50 | Synthetic triarylmethane dye; was banned in France, Norway and Finland until 2008 EU harmonization. |
| Enriched Wheat Flour | -10 | Refined flour stripped of bran/germ and fortified with synthetic vitamins to replace lost nutrients. |
| Sugar (Refined) | -10 | Refined sucrose, typically from sugarcane or sugar beet; minimally processed but a refined sweetener. |
| Natural Flavor | -10 | Regulatory category that allows solvent extraction and undisclosed processing aids. Lack of transparency. |
| Corn Syrup | -10 | Refined glucose syrup from corn starch. |
| Polysorbate 60 | -10 | Synthetic surfactant. |
| Potassium Sorbate | -10 | Generally regarded as safe but may cause skin reactions; one of the better-tolerated synthetic preservatives. |
| Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) | -10 | Emulsifier shown in 2022 NIH study to alter gut microbiota in humans. |
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