Goldfish Crackers Nutrition Facts and Ingredients: Are Goldfish Healthy?

Goldfish nutrition facts: are they healthy?

Here is one serving of 55 pieces (30 g), from the manufacturer's label for the 10 oz bag as listed in the USDA branded foods database:

The good parts first. There is no sugar on the label, the cheese is real cheddar, and saturated fat is only 1 g per serving. Protein is 3 g, which is not much for 140 calories.

The weak part is salt. One serving has 250 mg of sodium, about 11% of the 2,300 mg daily value used on US labels. By weight that is about 0.8% sodium. Fiber is 1 g, because the flour is refined, not whole grain.

Goldfish are also calorie-dense, at 4.7 calories per gram, and each little fish is about 2.5 calories. That is why a handful from the bag adds up faster than it seems. On our calculation the nutrition part of the score lands at Nutri-Score D, mostly because of the salt.

Goldfish ingredients

The 10 oz bag of Goldfish Cheddar lists these ingredients, in label order. The list really does start with the words "made with smiles and", which is marketing, not an ingredient.

• Enriched wheat flour. refined flour with niacin, iron, thiamine, riboflavin and folic acid added back. It is the main ingredient.
• Cheddar cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes, annatto). real cheese, colored orange with annatto, a plant-based color.
• Vegetable oil (canola, soybean and/or sunflower). the fat in the cracker.
• Salt. listed fourth, before all the minor ingredients.
• Yeast and sugar. in the "2% or less" group. The sugar is small enough that the label shows 0 g.
• Autolyzed yeast extract. a savory flavor enhancer that boosts the cheesy, salty taste.
• Paprika, spices, celery and onion powder. seasoning.
• Monocalcium phosphate and baking soda. leavening that makes the crackers puff.

The label lists wheat and milk as allergens. Other Goldfish (Colors, Flavor Blasted, Whole Grain, Pretzel and the snack packs) have their own labels and are not covered here.

Are Goldfish ultra-processed?

Yes. NOVA, the food-processing scale used in nutrition research, puts a food in group 4, ultra-processed, when its ingredient list includes additives used to make the product more appealing, such as flavors, flavor enhancers and colors. Goldfish Cheddar has a flavor enhancer (autolyzed yeast extract) and an added color (annatto, inside the cheese).

The NOVA authors also name sweet or savory packaged snacks among the most common ultra-processed foods. Goldfish fit that picture, even though most of the list is flour, cheese, oil and salt.

None of the additives on this label is one our method flags for published health evidence. Annatto, monocalcium phosphate and baking soda are common and low concern. Goldfish score low because of what the food is as a whole: refined flour, salt and fat in a form that is easy to eat a lot of.

Why Goldfish score 21 out of 100

The Truvi score (our method) combines three parts of the label: processing, nutrition and how easy the food is to overeat.

• Processing. NOVA 4, with 5 additive codes on the label (annatto, monocalcium phosphate and baking soda).
• Nutrition. Nutri-Score D on our calculation, driven by salt. Protein and fiber help a little, and there is no sugar.
• Overeating. Goldfish meet the fat and sodium cluster of the hyper-palatable food definition by Fazzino and colleagues (2019): more than 25% of calories from fat and at least 0.3% sodium by weight. Goldfish have 32% of calories from fat and about 0.8% sodium. At 4.7 calories per gram they are also calorie-dense.

If you like Goldfish, the simple fix is the portion: pour out a serving into a bowl instead of eating from the bag, and pair it with something that has protein or fiber, such as fruit, vegetables or a piece of cheese. If you want a salty, crunchy snack more often, a whole grain cracker or chip with a short ingredient list scores higher on the same scale.

Snacks that score higher

These four score higher on the same scale. They come from the wider salty snacks category our database files Goldfish under, so they are chips and pretzels, not cheese crackers. All are NOVA 3, processed but not ultra-processed.

• 

  Great Value White Corn Tortilla Strips Chips

  Great Value White Corn Tortilla Strips, sold at Walmart. Per 28 g serving: 140 calories, 2 g fiber and no sugar, with less sodium per gram than Goldfish.

  NOVA 3 · Reported at Walmart · Photo: kiliweb, CC BY-SA 3.0

  55Good

• 

  Unknown Brand Crispy White Tortilla Chips

  Crispy white tortilla chips. Per 28 g serving: 140 calories, 1 g fiber and no sugar.

  NOVA 3 · Photo: kiliweb, CC BY-SA 3.0

  48Fair

• 

  Walmart Organic Great Value Blue Corn Tortilla Chips

  Great Value Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips. Per 28 g serving: 140 calories, 2 g fiber and no sugar.

  NOVA 3 · Photo: kiliweb, CC BY-SA 3.0

  54Good

• 

  Snyder's of Hanover Halloween Mini Pretzels

  Snyder's of Hanover Mini Pretzels (a seasonal Halloween pack). No fat, but saltier per gram than Goldfish, so keep the portion small.

  NOVA 3 · Photo: municorn-calorie-counter-app, CC BY-SA 3.0

  51Good

Full ingredient list and nutrition

Made with smiles and enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), cheddar cheese ([cultured milk, salt, enzymes], annatto), vegetable oil (canola, soybean and/or sunflower), salt, contains 2% or less of: yeast, sugar, autolyzed yeast extract, paprika, spices, celery, onion powder, monocalcium phosphate, baking soda. contains: wheat, milk.

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