amber
Carmines
Insect-derived red colour. Documented IgE allergen with anaphylaxis case reports.
DiCello et al. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 1999 (carmine anaphylaxis)
Low Tox Gear · Scanner
Betty Crocker Rainbow Chip Party Cake Mix 450g
Is Betty Crocker Rainbow Chip Party Cake Mix 450g low tox? Our scanner flagged 6 ingredients (6 in the caution tier) on its published label, screened against our 237 source-cited chemical rules.
6 caution
6 ingredients flagged
What we flagged
amber
Brilliant Blue Fcf
Coal-tar derived dye; absorbed through compromised gut barrier.
amber
Propylene Glycol
Common humectant. Documented contact allergen — especially for eczema-prone skin.
amber
Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
Industrial dough conditioner / emulsifier. Same Chassaing-class concerns for gut-barrier disruption.
amber
Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose
The 2015 Chassaing et al. study in Nature showed this emulsifier disrupts gut microbiota and induces low-grade inflammation.
amber
Diglycerides Of Fatty Acids
Industrial fatty-acid emulsifier shown to disrupt gut mucus barrier and microbiome in mouse models. Ubiquitous in baked goods and chocolate.
Full ingredients (from label)
Cake mix (73%): Wheat floursugarmulticoloured sugar sprinkles (5%) (sugar, rice flour, vegetable oil, thickener (tragacanth gum), colours (carotene, riboflavin, carmines, brilliant blue fcf, chlorophyll copper complex, indigotine))raising agents (sodium bicarbonate, calcium phosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate)modified corn starch (1422)emulsifiers (propylene glycol esters of fatty acids, mono- and di-glycerides of fatty acids, sodium stearoyl lactylate)saltvegetable oilthickeners (xanthan gum, sodium carboxymethylcellulose)flavour.Frosting (27%): Sugarvegetable oilwaterinvert sugar syrupemulsifiers (mono and diglycerides of fatty acids, polysorbate 60, sodium stearoyl lactylate)saltpreservative (potassium sorbate)mineral salt (sodium acid pyrophosphate)vanilla flavorcolour (carotene)food acid (citric acid).
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.