amber
E223
Documented MCAS, asthma and migraine trigger in sensitive individuals.
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Gluten-Free Iced Carrot Cake
Is Coles Gluten-Free Iced Carrot Cake low tox? Our scanner flagged 2 ingredients (2 in the caution tier) on its published label, screened against our 237 source-cited chemical rules.
2 caution
2 ingredients flagged
What we flagged
amber
E471
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 (84%) [carrot (18%), sunflower oil, pineapple (pineapple, pineapple juice, acidity regulator (citric acid)), brown sugar, caster sugar, water, rice flour, maize starch, thickeners (1442, 412, 464), walnuts (3.5%), humectant (422), desiccated coconut (coconut, preservative (223)), golden flaxseed, soy flour, faba beans, raising agents (450, 500), apple cider vinegar, natural vanilla flavouring, emulsifiers (471,475), cinnamon, preservative (potassium sorbate), lodised salt)icing (14%) [vegetable shortening (palm oil*, emulsifiers (471, 435), antioxidant (307b)), icing sugar, water, inverted sugar syrup, natural colour (carotene), lodised salt, natural flavouring, preservative (potassium sorbate), acidity regulator (citric acid)]walnuts (2%) allergy advice: contains walnutsoy. may contain eggmilk. **contributes to the production of sustainable palm oil. no artificial colours and flavours.
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.