Safe

Mac & cheese sauce

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0011110875075 · Condiments. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0011110875075 · Serving size 1/4 cup (62 g)

The verdict

Mac & cheese sauce scores 90/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 49 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 2 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 49-component record, beginning with Water, Cream, Milk. That density can include amounts and label fragments, so verify the physical label before relying on ingredient order or completeness. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

90/100
Safe safety score
2
Few flagged · of 49 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
E
Nutri-Score nutrition grade

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

Composite profile score

One verdict from three independent sources

53/100

Grade C-

Ingredient Safety

90/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

E

Nutri-Score front-of-pack nutrition grade

Weighted 50% ingredient safety / 25% processing level / 25% nutrition grade. A dimension with no data for this product (common: source coverage is partial) is dropped and its weight redistributes across the remaining dimensions, so missing data never silently lowers the score. See the full benchmark table.

10875075 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Mac & cheese sauce label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 90/100 FLAG-FEW 2 flagged LEN-DENSE 49 ing. REG-PART 31% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-SHORT Len top 0% LEAD-FLAG Carboxymethyl Cellulose PHOTO-SOLO No peers BOOK-OFF …875075 · July 2026

15 of 49 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Carboxymethyl Cellulose). Source sheet 10875075 · Open Food Facts · July 2026. The screening score and flag counts are in the verdict band above. This desk is the provenance stamp, not a second scorecard. Methodology

Screening model notes

How Nutri-Score, NOVA, and list length read this record

Within the four-tier shelf-label framework this site publishes, the composite for this product falls in the highest band. That band is defined by a threshold on the derived score alone: it is where labels land once components carrying caution-or-worse registry ratings contribute little or nothing to the deduction. The band is a summary of what the screened registries return for the components that were parsed, so it inherits their coverage gaps — a component absent from both registries neither raises nor lowers the figure. The threshold and the weighting behind it are set out on the methodology page.

Nutri-Score assigned its lowest band to this label. The algorithm reserves that grade for nutrition panels where the values it penalises sit well above the components it credits. The two systems on this page measure genuinely different things: a product can hold this grade while carrying no additive flagged by the registries screened below, and a product graded well can carry several. Neither reading substitutes for the other, and the per-component table is where the additive picture is set out.

The declared list is among the longer ones in this catalogue. A component set this wide means the screen returns many individual ratings, and the composite accumulates a large number of small contributions instead of turning on a handful of entries. At this length the per-component table below is substantially more informative than the single figure, because the figure compresses a great deal of variation into one number.

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 31,268 products we've scored in the Condiments category, the average safety score is 98.3/100. Mac & cheese sauce scores 8.3 points below that category average (90/100 vs. 98.3/100), so it is a comparatively weaker pick for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient-list length vs other Condiments products

Mac & cheese sauce lists 49 ingredients on its label

49 100th percentile a longer ingredient list than every other product we track

0–2: 186 products (1%). Below this entry. 2–4: 1,031 products (4%). Below this entry. 4–6: 1,392 products (5%). Below this entry. 6–8: 2,093 products (8%). Below this entry. 8–10: 2,811 products (10%). Below this entry. 10–12: 3,070 products (11%). Below this entry. 12–14: 2,818 products (10%). Below this entry. 14–16: 2,724 products (10%). Below this entry. 16–18: 2,451 products (9%). Below this entry. 18–20: 2,045 products (8%). Below this entry. 20–22: 1,563 products (6%). Below this entry. 22–24: 1,244 products (5%). Below this entry. 24–26: 934 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 694 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 551 products (2%). Below this entry. 30–32: 420 products (2%). Below this entry. 32–34: 246 products (1%). Below this entry. 34–36: 196 products (1%). Below this entry. 36–38: 135 products (0%). Below this entry. 38–40: 134 products (0%). Below this entry. 40–42: 346 products (1%). This entry sits in this band. This product 0 42 every published Condiments 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

27,084 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 49 (100th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
186 products (1%)
2–4
1,031 products (4%)
4–6
1,392 products (5%)
6–8
2,093 products (8%)
8–10
2,811 products (10%)
10–12
3,070 products (11%)
12–14
2,818 products (10%)
14–16
2,724 products (10%)
16–18
2,451 products (9%)
18–20
2,045 products (8%)
20–22
1,563 products (6%)
22–24
1,244 products (5%)
24–26
934 products (3%)
26–28
694 products (3%)
28–30
551 products (2%)
30–32
420 products (2%)
32–34
246 products (1%)
34–36
196 products (1%)
36–38
135 products (0%)
38–40
134 products (0%)
40 and above
346 products (1%)

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. The comparison here runs against the 27,084 Condiments products we publish with a parsed label, not against the whole catalogue, because list length varies far more between categories than within one.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

How the 90/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (2 flagged of 49 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Water
2
Cream
3
Milk
4
Carrageenan
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
Caution GRAS
5
Mono And Diglycerides
6
Carboxymethyl Cellulose
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, HUMECTANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Caution GRAS
7
Polysorbate 80
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Caution Approved
8
Cheddar And Brick Cheese
9
Bacterial Culture
10
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
11
Calcium Chloride
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, ENZYME, FIRMING AGENT, FREEZING OR COOLING AGENT, DIRECT CONTACT, FUMIGANT, HUMECTANT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING
GRAS
12
Microbial Enzyme
13
Color Added
14
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
15
Natural Flavor
16
Sodium Citrate
17
Sodium Phosphate
18
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
19
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
20
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
21
Canola Oil
22
Corn Starch
23
Aged White Cheddar Cheese
24
Non-fat Milk
25
Poblano Peppers
26
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
27
Green Jalapeno Peppers
28
Acetic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT
Safe GRAS
29
Butter
30
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
31
Glucono Delta Lactone
32
Dijon Mustard
33
Distilled Vinegar
34
Mustard Seeds
35
White Wine
36
Turmeric
37
Tartaric acid
Preservative
Safe
38
Spices
39
Green Pepper
40
Onion
41
Yeast Extract
42
Potassium Sorbate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT
Safe GRAS
43
Preservative
44
Guar Gum
45
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
46
Spice
47
Smoked Paprika
48
Chili Powder
49
Disodium Edta

Full Ingredient List

Water, cream (cream, milk, carrageenan, mono and diglycerides, carboxymethyl cellulose, polysorbate 80), processed cheese (cheddar and brick cheese [milk, bacterial culture, salt, calcium chloride, microbial enzyme, color added], water, whey, natural flavor, sodium citrate, sodium phosphate, salt, maltodextrin, lactic acid, citric acid, color added), canola oil, modified corn starch, aged white cheddar cheese (milk, non-fat milk, whey, cream, bacterial culture, salt, microbial enzyme), poblano peppers (poblano peppers, water, salt, citric acid, sugar, calcium chloride), green jalapeno peppers (green jalapeno peppers, salt, acetic acid, calcium chloride), butter, salt, garlic, natural flavor, lactic acid, glucono delta lactone, dijon mustard (distilled vinegar, mustard seeds, water, salt, white wine, citric acid, turmeric, tartaric acid, spices), sugar, whey, dried green pepper, dehydrated onion, yeast extract, potassium sorbate (preservative), carrageenan, guar gum, dehydrated garlic, spice, smoked paprika, chili powder, disodium edta (to protect flavor).

Categories

Condiments Sauces Groceries

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Carboxymethyl Cellulose is the first flagged ingredient selected from Mac & cheese sauce's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 49-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Carboxymethyl Cellulose. Open Carboxymethyl Cellulose
  • Compare Mac & cheese sauce's 2 flagged ingredients with a product from the same score neighbourhood. Compare labels
  • Check how caution flags contribute to the derived screening score before drawing a dietary conclusion. Read the method

This page describes published ingredient-list and source coverage. It is not dietary or medical advice.

Barcode 0011110875075: product data from Open Food Facts (July 2026). Screening from FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine where attached. Figures are computed from those sources, not editor-typed. Methodology. Reference only, not dietary or medical advice.