Spoon Scout

Special K Salted Caramel Chocolate Flavored Chewy Snack Bars, Salted Caramel Chocolate

The Kellogg Company · Snack, Energy & Granola Bars · barcode 00038000124099

What stands out

  • From the label

    The ingredients list Partially hydrogenated oils, Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow) and Blue No. 2 (indigotine), which have stricter rules elsewhere. Strictest: No longer allowed by FDA; EU warning label. Details

  • Lab testsNo lab has published results for this exact product.
  • RecallsNo FDA recall lists this barcode.
  • Additives5 ingredients have stricter rules elsewhere. Strictest: No longer allowed by FDA; EU warning label. Which
  • TypicalFDA's tests of snack, energy & granola bars show what's typical. See levels

Additives with restrictions somewhere

From the ingredient list on file (label data dated 2021-10-28). Recipes change, so check the package you have.

Rules that apply to more than one of these

  • Texas: Warning label required from 2027-01-01 Labels developed on or after January 1, 2027 must warn that the product contains an ingredient not recommended for consumption in Australia, Canada, the EU or the UK. (SB 25 (2025)) Source. Applies to all of them.
  • Louisiana: Warning label required from 2028-01-01 Products containing it must carry a QR code disclosure from January 1, 2028. (SB 14, Act 463 (2025)) Source. Applies to all of them.
  • US (FDA): Allowed Source. Applies to Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow), Blue No. 2 (indigotine).
  • EU: Allowed with warning label (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex V) Source. Applies to Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow).
  • California: Banned in school meals from 2027-12-31 Banned in food and drinks offered in California public schools from December 31, 2027. (AB 2316 (2024)) Source. Applies to Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow), Blue No. 2 (indigotine).
  • West Virginia: Banned from 2028-01-01 Food containing it is treated as adulterated in West Virginia from January 1, 2028. (HB 2354 (2025)) Source. Applies to Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow), Blue No. 2 (indigotine).
  • West Virginia: Banned in school meals from 2025-08-01 Banned in West Virginia school meals since August 1, 2025. (HB 2354 (2025)) Source. Applies to Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow), Blue No. 2 (indigotine).
  • Louisiana: Banned in school meals from 2028-2029 school year Banned in Louisiana school food from the 2028-2029 school year (concession stands and vending machines exempt). (SB 14, Act 463 (2025)) Source. Applies to Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow), Blue No. 2 (indigotine), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene).
  • EU: Allowed (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008) Source. Applies to Blue No. 2 (indigotine), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene).

Partially hydrogenated oils

  • US (FDA): Authorization revoked FDA determined in 2015 that they are no longer generally recognized as safe; makers had to remove them, with final compliance dates in 2018-2020. Labels on file may predate that. (80 FR 34650 (2015)) Source

Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine) (E102)

Only the shared rules above.

Red No. 40 (Allura Red) (E129)

Only the shared rules above.

Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow) (E110)

Only the shared rules above.

Blue No. 2 (indigotine) (E132)

Only the shared rules above.

BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) (E321)

  • US (FDA): Allowed FDA allows it as a preservative. Source

Typical for snack, energy & granola bars

What FDA found when it bought and tested this kind of food across the US. These are not tests of this product.

FDA samples behind these numbers
  • Lead in Granola bar: found in 0 of 3 samples, all below 4 ppb (2018-2020)
  • Cadmium in Granola bar: found in 3 of 3 samples, average 8.47, highest 11 ppb (2018-2020)
  • Mercury in Granola bar: found in 0 of 3 samples, all below 1 ppb (2018-2020)
  • Arsenic (total) in Granola bar: found in 3 of 3 samples, average 21.7, highest 28 ppb (2018-2020)

"Typically" is FDA's middle sample. Daily amounts use the long-run average and each chemical's daily limit (EPA reference dose, or FDA's level for lead) for a 33-lb toddler and a 154-lb adult. ppb = micrograms per kilogram of food. Source: FDA Total Diet Study.

Not tested

No published results for this product cover: Metals, Perchlorate, Phthalates (plastic softeners), Phthalate substitutes, Bisphenols. That means nobody has published a test, not that these are absent.

Ingredients (from the label)

ROLLED OATS, CORN SYRUP, RICE FLOUR, SUGAR, FRUCTOSE, VEGETABLE OIL (PALM, PALM KERNEL AND PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL OIL), CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF CHOCOLATE, DEXTROSE, SOLUBLE CORN FIBER, GLYCERIN, SORBITOL, SALT, COCOA POWDER, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, WHEY, SOY LECITHIN, SEA SALT, MOLASSES, NONFAT MILK, MALT EXTRACT, MIXED TOCOPHEROLS FOR FRESHNESS, BHT (PRESERVATIVE), YELLOW 5 LAKE, RED 40 LAKE, YELLOW 6 LAKE, BLUE 2 LAKE, WHEAT STARCH.

From USDA FoodData Central, label dated 2021-10-28. Labels change; check the package.

Compare with another product