amber
Monosodium Glutamate Kahan Gum
Reported migraine and MCAS trigger in sensitive individuals.
Niaz et al. EXCLI J 2018 (review); Yang et al. Nutrients 1997
Low Tox Gear · Scanner
ranch dressing
Is Heinz ranch dressing low tox? Our scanner flagged 3 ingredients (3 in the caution tier) on its published label, screened against our 237 source-cited chemical rules.
3 caution
3 ingredients flagged
What we flagged
amber
Sodium Benzoate
Implicated in childhood hyperactivity studies and reported MCAS trigger.
amber
Calcium Disodium EDTA
Chelating agent — generally tolerated but documented MCAS trigger in case reports.
Full ingredients (from label)
HEINZ EST 1869 RANCH dressing UD IT HAS TO BE HEINZ. GREDIENTS: SOYBEAN OILWATER DISTILLED WHITE VINEGAR SUGAR CULTURED LOWFAT BUTTERMILK (CULTURED WET MILK, SALT, VITAMIN A PALMITATE VITAMIN D3 CULTURES SALT CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF ENZYME ODED EGG YOLKS, EGG YOLKS MODIFIED FOOD STARCH BUTTERMILK GARLIC POWDER, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE KAHAN GUM, PHOSPHORIC ACID POTASSIUM SORBATE SODIUM BENZOATE AND CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (20 PRESERVE FRESHNESS) ONION POWDER, DEHYDRATED PARSLEY DRIED TORULA YEAST, BLACK PEPPER CONTAINS: MILK, EGG MFD BY KRAFT HENZ FOODS COMPANY PITTSBURGH PA 15222 CONTACT US AT 1-888-366-8754 0 13000 54430 6 NET WIT 207 (560
How this analysis is generated
Each ingredient on this product's published label is matched against our 237 source-cited chemical rules, each documenting a concern from peer-reviewed research and regulatory sources. Severity tiers:
- Avoid (red) — banned or restricted in the EU, UK or Canada but still legal in the US, IARC-listed, or strong contact-allergen evidence.
- Caution (amber) — regulatory caution, contamination risk, or condition-specific irritant.
- Mild (green) — low concern but commonly avoided in low-tox formulations.
Each flag links to its primary chemical-level source, and each condition pill links to a PubMed-indexed paper that discusses the chemical class in the context of that condition. Every citation is a real peer-reviewed paper — we don't link to Wikipedia or PubMed search pages. Some pairs use a topically-broad paper (e.g. a fragrance-allergen patch-test review) rather than a single-pair study where the literature is thin. The full evidence chain (chemical → mechanism → condition → paper) is one click away.
This is automated analysis of a published label, not medical advice — always verify the label yourself before changing products. Methodology and source list at scan.lowtoxgear.com.