The Tender Jerky
The Tender Jerky by Matador has 4 tracked ingredients, with an overall safety score of 3.3 out of 5, 0.82 points below the 4.12/5 average across all scored products. Its Nutri-Score is E, and 2 of its ingredients carry a low safety rating.
- Safety score 0.82 points below the 4.12/5 average across all scored products
- NOVA processing classification: group 4
Undefined
How This Score Is Built
The Tender Jerky draws on FDA status, EU regulatory status, US state actions, and published research, combined into a single editorially-derived 1-5 scale (never an official government rating). 4 of its 4 tracked ingredients are scored so far; data as of 2026-09-07.
Open Food Facts, FDA, and EU regulatory records feed this score. The FDA site → has the primary record; our methodology page explains the scoring.
Where The Tender Jerky sits nationally
Average ingredient safety score vs. 58,710 other scored products in PlainIngredients
3.3 Top 93% higher than 7% 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
- Monosodium Glutamate - Safety score: 2/5
- Sodium Nitrite - Safety score: 2/5
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
BEEF AND PORK, SUGAR, WATER, SALT, BROWN SUGAR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: BEEF STOCK, NATURAL SMOKE FLAVORING (NATURAL SMOKE FLAVOR, MALTODEXTRIN), FLAVORINGS, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, MALTODEXTRIN, SODIUM ERYTHORBATE, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM NITRITE.
Compare beyond brand
Nationwide peers by additive safety & ingredient depth
Two PlainIngredients-derived comparison paths for The Tender Jerky: 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: 3.3/5.
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
- Matador
- Barcode
- 0028400601320
- Nutri-Score
- Grade E
- NOVA Group
- 4 — Ultra-processed foods
- Available In
- United States
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Frequently asked questions
Where does The Tender Jerky rank on ingredient safety?
The Tender Jerky scores 3.3 out of 5 for average ingredient safety, in the bottom 93% of the 58,710 products in PlainIngredients with a scored ingredient list, 0.82 points below the 4.12/5 average across all scored products.
How should The Tender Jerky's 3.3/5 score be read?
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 3.3/5 average places The Tender Jerky in the Mixed Evidence 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.