Food · Starburst
Starburst Original
2092000000041
Weak nutrition · Ultra-processed · per 100 g
Weak nutrition and a factory recipe. Fine as a rare treat — not as a habit.
Worse than 8 in 10 packs in Candy. The swap is on this aisle.
Council note
Ultra-processed — flavours, extras, a list a kitchen would not write. The colour (Tartrazine) is cosmetic, not food. A dietitian would not make this a weekday habit. Worse than 8 in 10 packs in Candy. The swap is on this aisle.
Watch-outs
Artificial colours
Tartrazine, Allura red AC
The pack
Weak nutrition and a factory recipe. Fine as a rare treat — not as a habit.
How often
Rarely
Who it’s for
Anyone comparing similar products in this aisle.
Skip if
It clashes with the notes you keep in your profile — allergens, diet, or extras you asked us to flag.
- A weak nutrition box cannot be rated Good
- Ultra-processed food cannot be rated Good
- A cluster of extras blocks Excellent or Good
At a glance
How often
Rarely
Nutrition box
Weak
How processed
Ultra-processed
Extras
3 additives
Planet
Heavier footprint · 40/100
Organic
Not organic
Built in a factory with additives, flavours, or refined extras. Cannot be rated Good — a rare treat, not a habit.
Palm oil, heavy processing, or farming choices that cost more than they give back.
No shelf price logged yet. When a shopper posts a receipt to Open Prices, it lands here.
Why this number
Weak nutrition and a factory recipe. Fine as a rare treat — not as a habit.
Poor · 28/100 · nutrition weak
- Nutrition quality22/100
- Ingredients56/100
- How processed16/100
- Organic0/100
What pulled it down
A weak nutrition box cannot be rated Good
Sugars, salt or saturated fat dominate this box. Poor at best — a treat, not a habit.
Ultra-processed food cannot be rated Good
A factory recipe — flavours, colours, or many additives — cannot be rated Good. A sometimes treat, not a daily habit.
A cluster of extras blocks Excellent or Good
A cluster of extras keeps this at Poor: a sometimes product, not a habit.
Two red lights on the box cannot be rated Good
Two red lights on salt, sugar or saturated fat keep this at Poor, not Good.
A weak nutrition box
About 16 teaspoons of sugar in 100 g. Sugars, salt or saturated fat dominate.
Ultra-processed
Built in a factory with additives, flavours, or refined extras. A growing pile of research ties a diet of these to poorer health — not because one biscuit is poison, but because the pattern crowds out real food.
Palm oil
-8High in saturated fat. Process contaminants (3-MCPD, glycidyl esters) in refined oils.
Tartrazine
-14Azo dye linked to hyperactivity in sensitive children. EFSA ADI 7.5 mg/kg.
Allura red AC
-14Widely used azo dye. Hyperactivity concern in children.
Azo dye mix
-82 synthetic colours (the Southampton six family) sit on this pack. Linked to hyperactivity in sensitive children.
Nutrition is half the number. Ingredients a quarter. How processed a fifth. Organic is a small bonus — it cannot rescue a sugary drink or a nitrite ham. How this compares to Nutri-Score
Nutrition · per 100 g
| Energy | 1700 kJ |
|---|---|
| Sugars | 64 gHigh Very sweet — about 16 teaspoons of sugar in 100 g. |
| Saturated fat | 7 gHigh |
| Salt | 0.02 gLow Light on salt. |
| Fibre | 0 g |
| Protein | 0 g |
Ingredients
Corn syrup, sugar, palm oil, citric acid, yellow 5, red 40, blue 1, natural and artificial flavours.
TartrazineE102
−14Linked to restlessness in some children. You don’t need yellow food to be yellow.
Extra care for children
Allura red ACE129
−14Widely used, often flagged for children. You can live without red cereal.
Extra care for children
Sugar
Low concernNot a toxin. A teaspoon is a teaspoon. The issue is how many hide in drinks and breakfast.
Palm oil
−8High in saturated fat. The other cost is landscape. A daily chocolate spread is both stories at once.
Citric acidE330
No concernNo health concern at usual levels.
Candy aisleMore from StarburstHow scoring worksPack facts (open data)
Healthie is a reading aid, not a diagnosis. If you have an allergy, always check the pack.