Safe

Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Macaroni

by Hamburger Helper

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0016000197473 · Hamburger Helper · Meals. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0016000197473 · Serving size 0.25 cup (30 g)

The verdict

Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Macaroni by Hamburger Helper scores 100/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 37 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 0 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 37-component record, beginning with Enriched Elbow Macaroni, Wheat Flour, Niacin. 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.

100/100
Safe safety score
0
None flagged · of 37 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

58/100

Grade C

Ingredient Safety

100/100

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.

00197473 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Macaroni label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 100/100 FLAG-CLEAN 0 flagged LEN-DENSE 37 ing. REG-PART 30% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-MID Len top 33% LEAD-RARE Silicon Dioxide PHOTO-FINISH Fudge Brownie Mix · ±0 BOOK-OFF …197473 · July 2026

11 of 37 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Silicon Dioxide). Source sheet 00197473 · 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: Fudge Brownie Mix · Nearest score peer is Fudge Brownie Mix at the same screening score.

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.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Macaroni: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Hamburger Helper, Cheeseb…100/1002. Fudge Brownie Mix: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Fudge Brownie Mix100/1003. Reese's Brownie Mix: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Reese's Brownie Mix100/1004. Cinnamon Toast Crunch minis imp: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Cinnamon Toast Crunch min…100/1005. Cinnamon toast crunch minis: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Cinnamon toast crunch min…100/100
High-band neighbours for Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Macaroni (100/100) outside Hamburger Helper.
Chart values as text

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

Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Macaroni
100/100
Fudge Brownie Mix
100/100
Reese's Brownie Mix
100/100
Cinnamon Toast Crunch minis imp
100/100
Cinnamon toast crunch minis
100/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 15,626 products we've scored in the Meals category, the average safety score is 93.6/100. Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Macaroni scores 6.4 points above that category average (100/100 vs. 93.6/100), so it is a comparatively strong pick for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient-list length vs other Meals products

Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Macaroni lists 37 ingredients on its label

37 67th percentile a longer ingredient list than 67% of the 11,283 products we track

0–2: 12 products (0%). Below this entry. 2–4: 83 products (1%). Below this entry. 4–6: 127 products (1%). Below this entry. 6–8: 209 products (2%). Below this entry. 8–10: 312 products (3%). Below this entry. 10–12: 315 products (3%). Below this entry. 12–14: 412 products (4%). Below this entry. 14–16: 477 products (4%). Below this entry. 16–18: 542 products (5%). Below this entry. 18–20: 552 products (5%). Below this entry. 20–22: 545 products (5%). Below this entry. 22–24: 550 products (5%). Below this entry. 24–26: 552 products (5%). Below this entry. 26–28: 552 products (5%). Below this entry. 28–30: 574 products (5%). Below this entry. 30–32: 517 products (5%). Below this entry. 32–34: 466 products (4%). Below this entry. 34–36: 451 products (4%). Below this entry. 36–38: 443 products (4%). This entry sits in this band. 38–40: 388 products (3%). Above this entry. 40–42: 3,204 products (28%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Meals 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

11,283 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 37 (67th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
12 products (0%)
2–4
83 products (1%)
4–6
127 products (1%)
6–8
209 products (2%)
8–10
312 products (3%)
10–12
315 products (3%)
12–14
412 products (4%)
14–16
477 products (4%)
16–18
542 products (5%)
18–20
552 products (5%)
20–22
545 products (5%)
22–24
550 products (5%)
24–26
552 products (5%)
26–28
552 products (5%)
28–30
574 products (5%)
30–32
517 products (5%)
32–34
466 products (4%)
34–36
451 products (4%)
36–38
443 products (4%)
38–40
388 products (3%)
40 and above
3,204 products (28%)

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 11,283 Meals 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

1
Enriched Elbow Macaroni
2
Wheat Flour
3
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
4
Ferrous Sulfate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
5
Thiamin Mononitrate
6
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
7
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
8
Corn Starch
9
Enriched Flour
10
Iron
11
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
12
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
13
Ricotta Cheese
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
Milkfat
16
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
17
Tomato
18
Onion
19
Natural Flavor
20
Corn Starch
21
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
22
Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
23
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
24
Spice
25
Disodium Inosinate And Guanylate
26
Color
27
Yellow Lakes 5 & 6
28
Yellows 5 & 6
29
Monoglycerides
30
Cheddar Cheese
31
Milk
32
Cheese Cultures
33
Enzymes
34
Sodium Phosphate
35
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
36
Anticaking Agent
37
Enzyme Modified Cheddar Cheese

Full Ingredient List

Enriched Elbow Macaroni (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Corn Starch, Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Salt, Sugar, Ricotta Cheese* (Whey, Milkfat, Lactic Acid, Salt), Tomato*, Onion*, Natural Flavor, Modified Corn Starch, Citric Acid, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Whey, Maltodextrin, Spice, Disodium Inosinate And Guanylate, Color (Yellow Lakes 5 & 6, Yellows 5 & 6), Monoglycerides, Cheddar Cheese* (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Sodium Phosphate, Silicon Dioxide (Anticaking Agent), Enzyme Modified Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes.

Categories

Meals Pasta dishes

High-score cross-brand comparables for Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Macaroni

Neighbours outside Hamburger Helper with screening scores in the same high band as Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Macaroni (100/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Hamburger Helper; these peers cross brands.

Read the longer label in layers

Read the longer label in layers

Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Macaroni has a longer ingredient list than 67% of its Meals category comparison set. Use the ingredient table before relying on its single screening score.

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

Barcode 0016000197473: 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.