Pepsi cola
Pepsi cola by Pepsi has 4 tracked ingredients, with an overall safety score of 3.8 out of 5, 0.32 points below the 4.12/5 average across all scored products.
- Safety score 0.32 points below the 4.12/5 average across all scored products
- NOVA processing classification: group 4
How This Score Is Built
PlainIngredients safety scores are a transparent, editorially-derived index synthesizing FDA status, EU regulatory status, US state actions, and published research into a single 1-5 scale, not an official government rating. 4 of 4 ingredients tracked for Pepsi cola have a scored rating so far. Data current as of 2026-09-07.
Sourced from Open Food Facts, FDA, and EU regulatory records. Verify with the FDA → See our full scoring methodology.
Where Pepsi cola sits nationally
Average ingredient safety score vs. 58,710 other scored products in PlainIngredients
3.8 Top 84% higher than 16% of 58,710 scored products
Average ingredient safety score (1 = highest risk, 5 = safest), bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more scored products. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainIngredients ingredient safety index · 2026-09-07
Ingredient Safety Breakdown
Processing Level
Ultra-processed products are formulations made mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods and additives. They typically contain ingredients not commonly used in home cooking.
Full Ingredients List
CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CARAMEL COLOR, SUGAR, PHOSPHORIC ACID, CAFFEINE, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVOR
Compare beyond brand
Nationwide peers by additive safety & ingredient depth
Two PlainIngredients-derived comparison paths for Pepsi cola: nearest mean mapped additive safety score and nearest mapped ingredient count among indexable products with at least 3 scored additives, excluding same-brand siblings. Scores describe regulatory and research signals on additives, not dietary advice.
Similar mean additive safety
Nearest products by average mapped safety score. This record: 3.8/5.
Similar mapped ingredient depth
Nearest products by count of scored mapped additives. This record: 4.
- Eckrich, 4 Pepper Smoked Sausage Δ 0 additives · Armour-Eckrich Meats Llc 4additives · 2.5/5
- Smoked Sausage Δ 0 additives 4additives · 2.5/5
- Caffeine free fruit punch artificially flavored soda, fruit punch Δ 0 additives · Food Club, Topco Associates Inc. 4additives · 2.8/5
- Canadian Bacon Δ 0 additives · Black Forest, Land O'Frost Inc. 4additives · 2.8/5
Product Details
- Brand
- Pepsi
- Barcode
- 0012000100109
- NOVA Group
- 4 — Ultra-processed foods
- Available In
- United States
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Frequently asked questions
Where does Pepsi cola rank on ingredient safety?
Pepsi cola scores 3.8 out of 5 for average ingredient safety, in the bottom 84% of the 58,710 products in PlainIngredients with a scored ingredient list, 0.32 points below the 4.12/5 average across all scored products.
What's behind the 3.8/5 rating on Pepsi cola?
PlainIngredients scores each ingredient 1 (highest risk) to 5 (safest) from FDA and EU regulatory status, then averages the scores of every ingredient this product lists that we could map. A 3.8/5 average places Pepsi cola in the Low Risk tier.
Every figure on PlainIngredients is rendered directly from FDA, EU, EFSA and U.S. state regulatory records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.