Note: Ingredients, on the left side of the chart, are sized by number of times each was found on a food label. The size of each aisle, on the right, is determined by totaling the number of times each of the 15 ingredients was found on a label in that food category. Percentages of ingredients in food categories do not add to 100% because products may contain more than one, or none at all. These percentages reflect only the range of products on supermarket shelves canvassed by FoodEssentials. Ingredient data retrieved from FoodEssentials on July 15, 2014.

Sources: FoodEssentials (analysis of ingredient labels), Institute of Food Technologists (uses of ingredients), Center for Science in the Public Interest.