Cakes
The Safe + Fair Food Company Birthday Cake Granola
12 oz
Score
- Ultra-processed
- High in sugar
- Contains added sugars
- Contains emulsifiers studied for gut effects
- Contains seed oils
- Contains palm oil
- No synthetic dyes
- Contains whole grains
Why it scores 9
The Safe + Fair Food Company Birthday Cake Granola scores 9 out of 100 (Bad) under GoodSwap’s published rules. What moved the score most:
- minus 20 points Corn syrup: An added sugar. Strong
- minus 20 points Sugar: An added sugar. Strong
- minus 18 points 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.
Better granola and muesli
-
Organic Original Salty-sweet Granola Purely Elizabeth · 34 oz Not ultra-processed · Less sugar Score 51 out of 100 , 42 points higher -
Original Ancient Grain Granola Purely Elizabeth · 12 oz (340 g) Not ultra-processed · Less sugar Score 51 out of 100 , 42 points higher -
Zero apple cinnamon nut granola Kind · 8 oz Less sugar · No added sugars Score 63 out of 100 , 54 points higher -
Vanilla Chia Granola One Degree Organic Foods · 11 oz Not ultra-processed · Less sugar Score 64 out of 100 , 55 points higher -
Pumpkin Seed & Flax Granola Cereal Simply Nature · 11.5 oz (325 g) Not ultra-processed · Less sugar Score 52 out of 100 , 43 points higher
The same kind of product, at least 10 points higher, sold in the US. Never paid placements.
The Receipt
Birthday Cake Granola
Ingredients
- Corn syrup minus 20 points
- Sugar minus 20 points
- Cellulose gum (carboxymethylcellulose) minus 7.5 points
- Sunflower oil minus 1.5 points
- Palm oil minus 1 points
Processing
- Ultra-processed (NOVA 4) minus 18 points
- 6 kinds of ultra-processing markers minus 7.5 points
Nutrition per 100 g
- Sugars 30 g / 100 g minus 14 points
- Saturated fat 1.7 g / 100 g minus 1 points
- Salt 0.3 g / 100 g minus 1 points
- Energy 433 kcal / 100 g minus 2 points
- Fiber 3.3 g / 100 g plus 2 points
100 − 91.5 = 8.5 → 9
Can’t score above 79. Contains corn syrup, an ingredient of high concern. [1][2][3]
Can’t score above 79. High in sugars (above the front-of-pack "high" level). [17]
Nutrition per 100 g
| Energy | 433 kcal |
|---|---|
| Fat | 15 g |
| Saturated fat | 1.7 g |
| Trans fat | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 70 g |
| Sugars | 30 g |
| Added sugars | 7 g |
| Fiber | 3.3 g |
| Protein | 6.7 g |
| Salt | 0.3 g |
Serving: 0.333 cup (30 g)
Ingredients
- Oats
- brown rice syrup (high concern)
- cane sugar (high concern)
- sunflower oil
- natural color sprinkles (cane sugar, palm oil and palm kernel oil, corn starch, sunflower lecithin, vegetable juice, annatto, spirulina extract, turmeric, beta carotene, maltodextrin, carnauba wax, cellulose gum)
- brown rice
- millet
- natural vanilla flavor
- sea salt
Label text, as published
Oats, brown rice syrup, cane sugar, sunflower oil, natural color sprinkles (cane sugar, palm oil and palm kernel oil, corn starch, sunflower lecithin, vegetable juice, annatto, spirulina extract, turmeric, beta carotene, maltodextrin, carnauba wax, cellulose gum), brown rice, millet, natural vanilla flavor, sea salt
Allergens and diets
Contains: Gluten
May contain: Milk, Peanuts, Tree nuts, Soy, Egg, Fish, Crustaceans, Sesame
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Not gluten-free
- Not palm-oil-free
Always check the package: recipes change.
More cakes on GoodSwap
-
Power Cakes Flapjack & Waffle Mix Kodiak · 567 g High in saltContains added sugarsContains whole grains Score 68 out of 100 Good -
Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling Hostess Twinkies · 385 g Dye with an EU warning labelContains synthetic dyesUltra-processedHigh in sugar Score 1 out of 100 Bad -
Power Cakes Flapjack & Waffle Mix Chocolate Chip Kodiak · 18 oz Ultra-processedHigh in saltContains added sugarsSeed-oil free Score 9 out of 100 Bad -
Frontier Flapjack & Waffle Mix Buttermilk & Honey Kodiak · 24 oz Ultra-processedHigh in saltContains added sugarsContains whole grains Score 48 out of 100 Okay -
Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes Tastykake · 2 cakes, 38 g, 1.3 oz Ultra-processedHigh in sugarHigh in saturated fatContains added sugars Score 0 out of 100 Bad -
Blueberry Flavored Protein Pastry Legendary · 2.2 oz/61 g Ultra-processedContains non-nutritive sweetenersContains sugar alcoholsContains seed oils Score 43 out of 100 Okay
More from The Safe + Fair Food Company
Sources
-
Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children
“In both adults and children, WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake”
who.int
-
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030
“Limit foods and beverages that include artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.”
cdn.realfood.gov
-
Added and free sugars should be as low as possible
“Sugar consumption is a known cause of dental caries.”
efsa.europa.eu
-
“Relative to control subjects, CMC consumption modestly increased postprandial abdominal discomfort and perturbed gut microbiota composition in a way that reduced its diversity.”
doi.org
-
Dietary emulsifiers impact the mouse gut microbiota promoting colitis and metabolic syndrome
“carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80, induced low-grade inflammation and obesity/metabolic syndrome in wild-type hosts and promoted robust colitis in mice predisposed to this disorder.”
doi.org
-
“This study found positive associations between risk of CVD and intake of five individual and two groups of food additive emulsifiers widely used in industrial foods.”
doi.org
-
“The Panel concluded that there was no need for a numerical ADI and that there would be no safety concern at the reported uses and use levels for the unmodified and modified celluloses”
doi.org
-
“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
-
“These data provide support for current recommendations to replace saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat for primary prevention of CHD.”
doi.org
-
Saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acid intake for adults and children: WHO guideline
“WHO recommends that adults and children reduce saturated fatty acid intake to 10% of total energy intake (strong recommendation).”
who.int
-
Process contaminants in vegetable oils and foods
“The highest levels of GE, as well as 3-MCPD and 2-MCPD (including esters) were found in palm oils and palm fats, followed by other oils and fats.”
efsa.europa.eu
-
“Glycidyl fatty acid esters, expressed as glycidol”
eur-lex.europa.eu
-
“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
-
“Table 3: Criteria for drinks (per 100ml)”
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
-
“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