Avoid

Cheetos Mac 'N Cheese Flamin' Hot Flavor

by Cheetos

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0015300014978 · Cheetos. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0015300014978 · Serving size 1 serving (100 g)

The verdict

Cheetos Mac 'N Cheese Flamin' Hot Flavor by Cheetos scores 25/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 31 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 3 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 31-component record, beginning with Wheat Flour, Maltodextrin, Salt. 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.

25/100
Avoid safety score
3
Few flagged · of 31 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
0015300014978
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.

Composite profile score

One verdict from three independent sources

20/100

Grade F

Ingredient Safety

25/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

N/A

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.

00014978 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Cheetos Mac 'N Cheese Flamin' Hot Flavor label screening desk

SCORE-AVOID 25/100 FLAG-FEW 3 flagged LEN-DENSE 31 ing. REG-PART 48% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-UNK Nutri n/a RANK-SHORT Len top 13% LEAD-FLAG Yellow 6 PHOTO-FINISH Herb & Butter · ±0 BOOK-OFF …014978 · July 2026

15 of 31 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Yellow 6). Source sheet 00014978 · 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 · Read with nearest score peer: Herb & Butter Flavor Rice · Nearest score peer is Herb & Butter Flavor Rice at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

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

The composite for this product falls in the lowest of the four bands. That is where labels land when registry-rated components drive the greater part of the deduction from the index. The band name is drawn from the framework's own scale and is distinct from the ratings the registries themselves assign to individual substances, which are shown per component below. A single heavily rated component and several lightly rated ones can produce the same band, so the component table is the more precise reading of the two.

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.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Cheetos Mac 'N Cheese Flamin' Hot Flavor: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Cheetos Mac 'N Cheese Fla…25/1002. Herb & Butter Flavor Rice: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Herb & Butter Flavor Rice25/1003. Garlic & Olive Oil Vermicelli: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Garlic & Olive Oil Vermic…25/1004. Pasta Roni Fettuccine Alfredo 4.7 Ounce Paper Box: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Pasta Roni Fettuccine Alf…25/1005. Angel Hair Pasta with Herbs: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Angel Hair Pasta with Her…25/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Cheetos Mac 'N Cheese Flamin' Hot Flavor (25/100 on 31 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

Unit: PlainFoodSafe screening score out of 100. Data current as of July 2026.

Cheetos Mac 'N Cheese Flamin' Hot Flavor
25/100
Herb & Butter Flavor Rice
25/100
Garlic & Olive Oil Vermicelli
25/100
Pasta Roni Fettuccine Alfredo 4.7 Ounce Paper Box
25/100
Angel Hair Pasta with Herbs
25/100

Ingredient-list length vs every product we publish

Cheetos Mac 'N Cheese Flamin' Hot Flavor lists 31 ingredients on its label

31 87th percentile a longer ingredient list than 87% of the 359,392 products we track

0–2: 6,050 products (2%). Below this entry. 2–4: 24,522 products (7%). Below this entry. 4–6: 31,054 products (9%). Below this entry. 6–8: 30,981 products (9%). Below this entry. 8–10: 31,618 products (9%). Below this entry. 10–12: 29,943 products (8%). Below this entry. 12–14: 28,403 products (8%). Below this entry. 14–16: 27,417 products (8%). Below this entry. 16–18: 24,508 products (7%). Below this entry. 18–20: 19,062 products (5%). Below this entry. 20–22: 14,679 products (4%). Below this entry. 22–24: 12,238 products (3%). Below this entry. 24–26: 10,830 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 9,344 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 7,955 products (2%). Below this entry. 30–32: 6,753 products (2%). This entry sits in this band. 32–34: 5,918 products (2%). Above this entry. 34–36: 5,282 products (1%). Above this entry. 36–38: 4,531 products (1%). Above this entry. 38–40: 4,063 products (1%). Above this entry. 40–42: 24,241 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: 31 (87th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
6,050 products (2%)
2–4
24,522 products (7%)
4–6
31,054 products (9%)
6–8
30,981 products (9%)
8–10
31,618 products (9%)
10–12
29,943 products (8%)
12–14
28,403 products (8%)
14–16
27,417 products (8%)
16–18
24,508 products (7%)
18–20
19,062 products (5%)
20–22
14,679 products (4%)
22–24
12,238 products (3%)
24–26
10,830 products (3%)
26–28
9,344 products (3%)
28–30
7,955 products (2%)
30–32
6,753 products (2%)
32–34
5,918 products (2%)
34–36
5,282 products (1%)
36–38
4,531 products (1%)
38–40
4,063 products (1%)
40 and above
24,241 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

How the 25/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (3 flagged of 31 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Wheat Flour
2
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
3
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
4
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
5
Canola Oil
6
Cheddar Cheese
7
Milk Culture
8
Enzymes
9
Corn Starch
10
Buttermilk
11
Sunflower Oil
12
Msg
13
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
14
Yeast Extract
15
Corn Syrup Solids
16
Onion Powder
17
Whey Protein Concentrate
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
18
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
19
Natural And Artificial Flavor
20
Red 40
Avoid Approved (certified color)
21
Silicon Dioxide
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT
Safe GRAS
22
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
23
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
24
Garlic Powder
25
Disodium Inosinate And Disodium Guanylate
26
Hydrolyzed Soy Protein
27
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
28
Ferrous Sulfate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
29
Thiamine Mononitrate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
30
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
31
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved

Full Ingredient List

Wheat Flour, Maltodextrin, Salt, Whey, Canola Oil, Cheddar Cheese (milk Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Modified Corn Starch, Buttermilk, Sunflower Oil, Monosodium Glutamate, Sugar, Yeast Extract, Corn Syrup Solids, Onion Powder, Whey Protein Concentrate, Citric Acid, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Red 40 Lake, Silicon Dioxide, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Garlic Powder, Disodium Inosinate And Disodium Guanylate, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid.

Lower-score cross-brand comparables for Cheetos Mac 'N Cheese Flamin' Hot Flavor

Neighbours outside Cheetos in the same lower screening band as Cheetos Mac 'N Cheese Flamin' Hot Flavor (25/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Cheetos; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Yellow 6 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Cheetos Mac 'N Cheese Flamin' Hot Flavor's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 31-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Yellow 6. Open Yellow 6
  • Compare Cheetos Mac 'N Cheese Flamin' Hot Flavor's 3 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 0015300014978: 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.