We Scanned 743+ Grocery Products. Here's What We Found.

We individually scanned and scored 743 grocery products sold in American stores. Every product's full ingredient list was analyzed for additives, seed oils, allergens, and ingredients restricted in other countries. Here's what we found.

Data visualization for this study
743
Products Analyzed
31.1%
Failed Safety Check
34.1%
Contain Seed Oils
41.7%
Contain Flagged Additives
61.3
Average Safety Score (0-100)

Key Findings

Grade Distribution

We assigned every product a letter grade from A (safest) to F (most concerning) based on their ingredient safety score:

GradeProductsPercentage
A19826.6%
B25033.6%
C9713.1%
D15821.3%
F405.4%

Lowest-Scoring Brands (10+ Products Analyzed)

These brands had the lowest average ingredient safety scores among brands with at least 10 products in our database:

BrandProductsAvg ScoreFailures
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.13753.255
Costco Companies Inc.1556.87
Target Stores11062.024
Great Value2362.38
Kirkland3167.59
Kirkland Signature3168.510
Spring Valley1473.61
Whole Foods Market, Inc.1777.90
Gerber1095.60
Trader Joe's1398.60

Highest-Scoring Brands (10+ Products Analyzed)

These brands consistently scored highest for ingredient safety:

BrandProductsAvg Score
Trader Joe's1398.6
Gerber1095.6
Whole Foods Market, Inc.1777.9
Spring Valley1473.6
Kirkland Signature3168.5
Kirkland3167.5
Great Value2362.3
Target Stores11062.0
Costco Companies Inc.1556.8
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.13753.2

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Methodology

This study analyzed 743 grocery products available in US stores. Each product's full ingredient list was scored 0-100 by CheckIt AI's ingredient analysis engine, which flags additives, seed oils, allergens, and ingredients banned or restricted in other countries. Scores are based on ingredient safety data from FDA, EFSA, and peer-reviewed research. Products were sourced from OpenFoodFacts, USDA FoodData Central, and the CheckIt scanning database. Data current as of March 2026.

Read our full scoring methodology →

📋 Cite This Data

APA: CheckIt AI. (2026-03-05). We Scanned 743+ Grocery Products — CheckIt AI. Retrieved from https://getcheck.it/study/grocery-product-safety

Link: https://getcheck.it/study/grocery-product-safety

Embed: <a href="https://getcheck.it/study/grocery-product-safety">We Scanned 743+ Grocery Products — CheckIt AI — CheckIt AI</a>

Scanner Apps

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Ingredient Safety

Red 40Yellow 5Yellow 6AspartameBHABHTSodium NitriteCarrageenanSucraloseTitanium DioxidePotassium BromateHigh Fructose Corn SyrupMSGSodium BenzoateTBHQPolysorbate 80Red 3Caramel ColorSoy LecithinNatural FlavorsAcesulfame-KMaltodextrinXanthan GumGuar GumCitric AcidErythritolBlue 1Propyl GallateMono & DiglyceridesPectinAcacia GumAgarAnnattoAutolyzed YeastAzodicarbonamideBVOCalcium PropionateCarnauba WaxCelluloseDATEMDisodium InosinateGellan GumKonjacLocust Bean GumMethylcelluloseSodium AlginateSodium Aluminum PhosphateTragacanth Gum

Food Safety Answers

Is Red 40 Banned in Europe?What Foods Have Seed Oils?Is Carrageenan Safe?Worst Food AdditivesIs BHA Safe?Does Gatorade Have Food Dye?Titanium Dioxide in FoodIs Aspartame Safe?Is Sodium Nitrite Dangerous?Is MSG Bad for You?What Is HFCS?Is Sucralose Safe?Food Dye Banned in Europe?Is Potassium Bromate Banned?What Is Natural Flavors?Is Soy Lecithin Bad?Is Maltodextrin Bad?Is Xanthan Gum Safe?Is Red 3 Banned?Is TBHQ Bad?Foods Banned in Other CountriesIs Citric Acid Bad?What Is Polysorbate 80?Is Caramel Color Safe?Is Palm Oil Bad?What Is Cellulose in Food?Is Acesulfame-K Safe?Is Erythritol Safe?Is Guar Gum Safe?Is Food in America Safe?Cheerios & PesticidesBest Food Scanner AppHow to Read Food LabelsIs Yellow 5 Safe?Are Preservatives Bad?Artificial Sweetener SafetyIs Canola Oil Bad?Hidden Names for SugarFoods That Cause InflammationIs Annatto Safe?Is Azodicarbonamide Safe?Is Calcium Propionate Safe?Is Carnauba Wax Safe?Is Gelatin Halal?Is Locust Bean Gum Safe?Mono & Diglycerides SafetyIs Pectin Safe?Propylene Glycol in FoodWhat Is Agar Agar?What Is BVO?What Is DATEM?What Is Sodium Alginate?What Is Sodium Benzoate?

Cleanest Rankings

Cleanest Protein BarsCleanest CerealCleanest YogurtCleanest ChipsCleanest SnacksCleanest BreadCleanest SaucesCleanest JuiceCleanest CookiesCleanest CandyCleanest Ice CreamCleanest PastaCleanest Baby FoodCleanest Energy DrinksCleanest Protein PowderCleanest Frozen MealsCleanest CondimentsCleanest SodaCleanest Pet Food

Free-From Finder

Protein Bars Without Seed OilsCereal Without Artificial ColorsSnacks Without PreservativesYogurt Without Artificial SweetenersChips Without Seed OilsCookies Without Artificial ColorsCandy Without Artificial ColorsSoda Without Artificial SweetenersFrozen Meals Without MSGBaby Food Without SugarEnergy Drinks Without SweetenersProtein Bars Without SweetenersSnacks Without Seed OilsCereal Without SugarBread Without PreservativesIce Cream Without CarrageenanPasta Without Gluten

Store Scan Results

Costco Protein Bars RankedWalmart Cereal RankedTarget Snacks RankedWhole Foods Yogurt RankedKroger Bread RankedAldi Snacks RankedCostco Snacks RankedWalmart Chips RankedTarget Cookies RankedTrader Joe's Snacks RankedWhole Foods Bread RankedWalmart Juice RankedTarget Cereal RankedWalmart Bread RankedKroger Snacks RankedAldi Cereal RankedWhole Foods Snacks RankedKroger Cereal RankedAldi Bread RankedTrader Joe's Cereal RankedCostco Bread Ranked

Ingredient Comparisons

Red 40 vs Yellow 5Red 40 vs Yellow 6Aspartame vs SucraloseAspartame vs HFCSBHA vs BHTRed 40 vs AspartameCarrageenan vs Soy LecithinSucralose vs HFCSTBHQ vs BHATBHQ vs BHTRed 40 vs Titanium DioxideRed 40 vs Caramel ColorMSG vs Natural FlavorsSodium Benzoate vs Potassium BromateYellow 5 vs Red 3Polysorbate 80 vs CarrageenanXanthan Gum vs Guar GumRed 40 vs Red 3Erythritol vs SucraloseMaltodextrin vs HFCSAll Ingredient Comparisons

Store Reports

Walmart Report CardTarget Report CardCostco Report CardKroger Report CardWhole Foods Report CardTrader Joe's Report CardAldi Report CardSam's Club Report Card

Original Research

All Research StudiesGrocery Product Safety StudySeed Oil CensusSafest Grocery StoresSchool Lunch Safety ReportMost Common AdditivesBanned Ingredients in US Products

App Comparisons

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Guides & Tools

Download CheckIt AIUser ReviewsFood RecallsBanned in EuropeFood Safety ReportIngredient GlossaryStore RankingsIngredient EncyclopediaHealthier Swap FinderOur MethodologyIngredient ComparisonsTopic GuidesAll Food Safety AnswersOpen DataWhat's Really In Your Food
📋 Cite This Data
APACheckIt AI. (2026). "We Scanned 743+ Grocery Products. Here's What We Found | CheckIt AI". Climaverse PBC. Retrieved from https://getcheck.it/study/grocery-product-safety
MLA"We Scanned 743+ Grocery Products. Here's What We Found | CheckIt AI." CheckIt AI, Climaverse PBC, 2026-03-05. https://getcheck.it/study/grocery-product-safety.
HTML Embed<a href="https://getcheck.it/study/grocery-product-safety">We Scanned 743+ Grocery Products. Here's What We Found | CheckIt AI — CheckIt AI</a>
BibTeX@misc{checkit2026studygroceryproductsafety, title = {We Scanned 743+ Grocery Products. Here's What We Found | CheckIt AI}, author = {CheckIt AI}, year = {2026}, publisher = {Climaverse PBC}, url = {https://getcheck.it/study/grocery-product-safety}, note = {Retrieved 2026-03-05} }