Concern

Crunchy cheese curls

by Kroger

Scores 50/100 on FDA SAFFA + CSPI ingredient analysis , with 2 flagged ingredients identified.

Barcode 0011110109477

The verdict

Crunchy cheese curls by Kroger scores 50/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 30 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 2 ingredients are flagged for caution. The 30-component label is layered, beginning with Enriched Yellow Corn Meal Yellow Corn, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin. Start with any flagged rows, then check the nutrition grade and serving size instead of treating one roll-up score as the whole decision. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

50/100
Concern safety score
2
flagged ingredients of 30 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
0011110109477
Barcode (UPC/EAN)

Computed directly from OpenFoodFacts ingredient data cross-referenced with FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. See our methodology for the scoring formula.

What the Data Says About Crunchy cheese curls

Crunchy cheese curls by Kroger carries a composite safety score of 50/100, which we classify as "Concern" on our four-tier shelf-label framework.

Of the 30 ingredients parsed from this label, 13 are covered by a regulator or watchdog we screen against (Potassium Chloride, Coconut Oil, Yellow 6 and 10 others), with 12 carrying an FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) status and 7 a CSPI Chemical Cuisine rating. The remaining 17 ingredients appear in neither registry, so they neither raise nor lower the score. Each additive rated caution-or-worse penalizes the composite. Product data originates from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative catalog; safety annotations come from federal regulators and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. This score is a transparent derived index we compute from that public data, not an official FDA rating or endorsement; see the Methodology page for the exact weighting.

Our scan identified 2 flagged ingredients in this product, components that at least one official source has classified as requiring caution, targeted avoidance, or further evaluation. Flagged ingredients are the items most likely to surface in FDA inspection findings, state-level ingredient bans, or outbreak-related recall notices, so the per-ingredient breakdown below is the most useful lens for anyone screening this product for a specific dietary concern.

On the NOVA processing scale, Crunchy cheese curls is classified as Group 4 (Ultra-processed). NOVA measures industrial processing intensity rather than ingredient-level safety, so it complements the SAFFA and CSPI ratings: a product can be clean on additive flags but heavily processed, or lightly processed but carry individually flagged ingredients. Combining both lenses gives a fuller picture than either alone.

How the three scores on this page were derived

This label lands in the third of four positions on the published scale. What separates that position from its neighbours is arithmetic rather than judgement: identical inputs run through the documented weighting always arrive at the same place. Anyone who works the calculation through by hand, using the methodology write-up together with the itemised ratings further down, will reproduce this number exactly — which is the reason for publishing a computed figure instead of an opinion.

No Nutri-Score grade is present for this record in the OpenFoodFacts snapshot this page is built from. The nutritional dimension is absent rather than assessed and withheld: the grade depends on a complete declared nutrition panel, and community-contributed records vary in how much of that panel they carry. Nothing about the missing grade implies anything either way about the panel itself. The screen below covers additive ratings only and does not depend on the nutrition figures.

This label parsed into a long component list. Where many entries are screened at once, the composite tends to reflect the overall mix of registry ratings returned rather than the rating of any one entry. Longer declarations also carry more sub-listed and compound entries, where a parenthetical group is resolved into its parts, so the parsed count can exceed what a reader counts on the packaging.

Safety Profile at a Glance

Composite safety metrics for Crunchy cheese curls
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 50/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 2 CSPI/FDA review
NOVA processing group Group 4 OpenFoodFacts
Nutri-Score Not available OpenFoodFacts

Composite metric derived from FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine, OpenFoodFacts. See methodology.

Ingredient-list length vs every product we publish

Crunchy cheese curls lists 30 ingredients on its label

30 86th percentile a longer ingredient list than 86% of the 359,392 products we track

0–2: 6,017 products (2%). Below this entry. 2–4: 24,515 products (7%). Below this entry. 4–6: 30,975 products (9%). Below this entry. 6–8: 30,947 products (9%). Below this entry. 8–10: 31,570 products (9%). Below this entry. 10–12: 29,866 products (8%). Below this entry. 12–14: 28,397 products (8%). Below this entry. 14–16: 27,399 products (8%). Below this entry. 16–18: 24,531 products (7%). Below this entry. 18–20: 19,104 products (5%). Below this entry. 20–22: 14,716 products (4%). Below this entry. 22–24: 12,256 products (3%). Below this entry. 24–26: 10,853 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 9,356 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 7,948 products (2%). Below this entry. 30–32: 6,771 products (2%). This entry sits in this band. 32–34: 5,945 products (2%). Above this entry. 34–36: 5,283 products (1%). Above this entry. 36–38: 4,549 products (1%). Above this entry. 38–40: 4,084 products (1%). Above this entry. 40–42: 24,310 products (7%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published product, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more products. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Distribution as text

359,392 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 30 (86th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
6,017 products (2%)
2–4
24,515 products (7%)
4–6
30,975 products (9%)
6–8
30,947 products (9%)
8–10
31,570 products (9%)
10–12
29,866 products (8%)
12–14
28,397 products (8%)
14–16
27,399 products (8%)
16–18
24,531 products (7%)
18–20
19,104 products (5%)
20–22
14,716 products (4%)
22–24
12,256 products (3%)
24–26
10,853 products (3%)
26–28
9,356 products (3%)
28–30
7,948 products (2%)
30–32
6,771 products (2%)
32–34
5,945 products (2%)
34–36
5,283 products (1%)
36–38
4,549 products (1%)
38–40
4,084 products (1%)
40 and above
24,310 products (7%)

Source Open Food Facts, product label ingredient lists · July 2026

Ingredient-list length is a descriptive property of the label, not a safety rating. A longer list is not automatically worse and a shorter one is not automatically better; the count is shown so the label can be placed against a comparable population. No category with enough published products was available for this record, so the comparison runs against the whole published catalogue.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

1
Enriched Yellow Corn Meal Yellow Corn
2
Thiamine Mononitrate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
3
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
4
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
5
Ferrous Sui Fate
6
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
7
Vegetable Oil
8
Corn
9
Organic Sunflower
10
Canola Oil
11
Cheese Seasoning
12
Whey
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FORMULATION AID, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
13
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
14
Coconut Oil
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Listed
15
Maltodextrin
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, HUMECTANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Safe GRAS
16
Msg
17
Ched Dar Cheese
18
Pasteurized Milk
19
Cream
20
Cultures
21
Nonfat Milk
22
Enzymes
23
D.potassium Phosphate
24
Potassium Chloride
ENZYME, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
25
Natural And Artificial Flavors
26
Citric Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, ENZYME, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SEQUESTRANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Safe GRAS
27
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
28
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
29
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
30
Milk

Full Ingredient List

enriched yellow corn meal yellow corn, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, niacin, ferrous sui fate, folic acid) vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: corn, sunflower, or canola oil), cheese seasoning (whey, salt, coconut oil, maltodextrin, monosodium glutamate, ched dar cheese [pasteurized milk, cream, salt, cultures, nonfat milk, enzymes), d.potassium phosphate, potassium chloride, natural and artificial flavors, citric acid, lactic acid, yellow 6, yellow 5), salt. contains: milk.

Data Sources

Data as of July 2026. Source: OpenFoodFacts, FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine.

Product data from OpenFoodFacts (ODbL). Ingredient safety ratings from FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine. See our methodology for details.

This information is for reference only and does not constitute dietary or medical advice.

Product data from Open Food Facts; additive safety from the FDA SAFFA inventory and CSPI Chemical Cuisine. See our methodology for details. Compiled by PlainFoodSafe

Every figure on PlainFoodSafe is rendered directly from OpenFoodFacts and FDA data, no number is typed in by an editor. Product figures are computed directly from OpenFoodFacts, FDA SAFFA, and CSPI Chemical Cuisine data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026.

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