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Girl Scouts Thin Mints
Photo: Open Food Facts contributors (CC BY-SA)

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Girl Scouts Thin Mints

255 g

Bad out of 100 High confidence
  • Ultra-processed
  • High in sugar
  • High in saturated fat
  • Contains added sugars
  • Contains seed oils
  • Contains palm oil
  • Contains artificial flavors
  • No synthetic dyes
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Why it scores 1

Girl Scouts Thin Mints scores 1 out of 100 (Bad) under GoodSwap’s published rules. What moved the score most:

  1. Sugar: An added sugar. Strong
  2. Caramel color: The FDA says classes III and IV, which can contain 4-MEI, are the most commonly used food color additives by volume. Regulatory
  3. Ultra-processed (NOVA 4): Classified NOVA 4: made with industrial ingredients and additives. Strong

Every line of the math is on The Receipt below, with its evidence tier and sources.

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The same kind of product, at least 10 points higher, sold in the US. Never paid placements.

The Receipt

Thin Mints

START100

Ingredients

  • Sugar
    Strong An added sugar. [1][2][3]
  • Caramel color
    Regulatory The FDA says classes III and IV, which can contain 4-MEI, are the most commonly used food color additives by volume. [4][5][6][7]
  • Invert sugar
    Strong An added sugar. [1][2][3]
subtotal−50

Processing

  • Ultra-processed (NOVA 4)
    Strong Classified NOVA 4: made with industrial ingredients and additives. [8]
  • 4 kinds of ultra-processing markers
    Emerging Industrial additive classes found: color (added), emulsifier, flavoring and industrial sugar or starch hydrolysate. [8]
subtotal−22.5

Nutrition per 100 g

  • Sugars 32.3 g / 100 g
    Strong Very high in sugar. [1]
  • Saturated fat 16.1 g / 100 g
    Strong Very high in saturated fat. [9]
  • Salt 1 g / 100 g
    Strong High in salt. [10]
  • Energy 516 kcal / 100 g
    Info Energy-dense for its weight. [2]
  • Fiber 3.2 g / 100 g
    Strong A good source of fiber. [2]
subtotal−27
TOTAL 1Bad

100 − 99.5 = 0.5 → 1

Can’t score above 79. Contains sugar, an ingredient of high concern. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Can’t score above 79. High in fat, saturated fat and sugars (above the front-of-pack "high" level). [11]

GTIN 00082011570710 · 2026-05-06

score v1.3.0 · kb 2026.10.11

High confidence

Same product, same score. Every time.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy516 kcal
Fat22.6 g
Saturated fat16.1 g
Trans fat0 g
Carbohydrates67.7 g
Sugars32.3 g
Added sugars29 g
Fiber3.2 g
Protein6.5 g
Salt1 g

Serving: 4 cookies (31 g)

Ingredients

High Moderate Not recognized Tap an ingredient for its evidence and rules.
Label text, as published

enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin b1 [thiamin mononitrate], vitamin b2 [riboflavin], folic acid), sugar, vegetable oil (palm kernel, soybean and palm oil), cocoa processed with alkali, caramel color, contains 2% or less of leavening (baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), cocoa, invert sugar, cornstarch, salt, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavors, oil of peppermint

Allergens and diets

Contains: Soy, Wheat, Gluten

  • Not gluten-free
  • Not palm-oil-free

Always check the package: recipes change.

Packaging

Cardboard, Plastic

Context only: no points in v1.

Healthiest cookies in the US

More from Girl Scouts

Sources

  1. Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children

    World Health Organization · Mar 4, 2015 · Agency assessment

    “In both adults and children, WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake”

    who.int

  2. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture · January 2026 · Regulator

    “Limit foods and beverages that include artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.”

    cdn.realfood.gov

  3. Added and free sugars should be as low as possible

    European Food Safety Authority · Feb 28, 2022 · Agency assessment

    “Sugar consumption is a known cause of dental caries.”

    efsa.europa.eu

  4. Questions & Answers About 4-MEI

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration · Mar 27, 2020 · Regulator

    “Based on current science, the FDA has no reason to believe that there are any immediate or short-term health risks presented by 4-MEI at the levels expected in food.”

    fda.gov

  5. Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–142 (List of Classifications)

    International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO) · IARC

    monographs.iarc.who.int

  6. Caramel Color in Soft Drinks and Exposure to 4-Methylimidazole: A Quantitative Risk Assessment

    PLOS ONE · Feb 18, 2015 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  7. Proposition 65 List of Chemicals Known to the State to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity

    California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) · Jul 31, 2026 · Law

    “The date refers to the initial appearance of the chemical on the list.”

    oehha.ca.gov

  8. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them

    Public Health Nutrition · April 2019 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  9. Saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acid intake for adults and children: WHO guideline

    World Health Organization · Jul 17, 2023 · Agency assessment

    “WHO recommends that adults and children reduce saturated fatty acid intake to 10% of total energy intake (strong recommendation).”

    who.int

  10. Sodium reduction (fact sheet)

    World Health Organization · May 11, 2026 · Agency assessment

    “For adults, WHO recommends less than 2000 mg/day of sodium (equivalent to less than 5 g/day salt), or just under a teaspoon.”

    who.int

  11. Guide to creating a front of pack (FoP) nutrition label for pre-packed products sold through retail outlets

    Department of Health and Social Care / Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK) · Nov 8, 2016 · Regulator

    “Table 3: Criteria for drinks (per 100ml)”

    assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

  12. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses

    BMJ · Feb 28, 2024 · Peer-reviewed

    “Greater exposure to ultra-processed food was associated with a higher risk of adverse health outcomes, especially cardiometabolic, common mental disorder, and mortality outcomes.”

    doi.org

  13. Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake

    Cell Metabolism · July 2019 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  14. Re-evaluation of the traditional diet-heart hypothesis: analysis of recovered data from Minnesota Coronary Experiment (1968-73)

    BMJ · Apr 12, 2016 · Peer-reviewed

    “replacement of saturated fat in the diet with linoleic acid effectively lowers serum cholesterol but does not support the hypothesis that this translates to a lower risk of death from coronary heart disease or all causes.”

    doi.org

  15. Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association

    Circulation · Jul 18, 2017 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  16. Dietary Linoleic Acid and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies

    Circulation · Oct 28, 2014 · Peer-reviewed

    “These data provide support for current recommendations to replace saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat for primary prevention of CHD.”

    doi.org

  17. Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food

    European Union (Official Journal) · Apr 25, 2023 · Law

    “Glycidyl fatty acid esters, expressed as glycidol”

    eur-lex.europa.eu