Safe

Betty Crocker Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0016000279216 · Plant-based foods and beverages. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0016000279216 · Serving size 1/2 cup as pkgd (23 g) (23 g)

The verdict

Betty Crocker Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes scores 100/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 57 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 57-component record, beginning with Potatoes, Salt, Tapioca Starch. 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 57 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.

00279216 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Betty Crocker Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 100/100 FLAG-CLEAN 0 flagged LEN-DENSE 57 ing. REG-SPARSE 28% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-SHORT Len top 0% LEAD-RARE Calcium Stearoyl-2-lactylate PHOTO-SOLO No peers BOOK-OFF …279216 · July 2026

16 of 57 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Calcium Stearoyl-2-lactylate). Source sheet 00279216 · 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 78,450 products we've scored in the Plant-based foods and beverages category, the average safety score is 97.7/100. Betty Crocker Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes scores 2.3 points above that category average (100/100 vs. 97.7/100), so it is roughly typical for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient-list length vs other Plant-based foods and beverages products

Betty Crocker Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes lists 57 ingredients on its label

57 100th percentile a longer ingredient list than every other product we track

0–2: 3,907 products (6%). Below this entry. 2–4: 7,921 products (12%). Below this entry. 4–6: 8,845 products (14%). Below this entry. 6–8: 7,032 products (11%). Below this entry. 8–10: 6,320 products (10%). Below this entry. 10–12: 4,190 products (7%). Below this entry. 12–14: 3,449 products (5%). Below this entry. 14–16: 3,051 products (5%). Below this entry. 16–18: 2,493 products (4%). Below this entry. 18–20: 2,053 products (3%). Below this entry. 20–22: 1,808 products (3%). Below this entry. 22–24: 1,758 products (3%). Below this entry. 24–26: 1,623 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 1,606 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 1,360 products (2%). Below this entry. 30–32: 1,198 products (2%). Below this entry. 32–34: 1,081 products (2%). Below this entry. 34–36: 901 products (1%). Below this entry. 36–38: 649 products (1%). Below this entry. 38–40: 534 products (1%). Below this entry. 40–42: 1,655 products (3%). This entry sits in this band. This product 0 42 every published Plant-based foods and beverages 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

63,434 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 57 (100th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
3,907 products (6%)
2–4
7,921 products (12%)
4–6
8,845 products (14%)
6–8
7,032 products (11%)
8–10
6,320 products (10%)
10–12
4,190 products (7%)
12–14
3,449 products (5%)
14–16
3,051 products (5%)
16–18
2,493 products (4%)
18–20
2,053 products (3%)
20–22
1,808 products (3%)
22–24
1,758 products (3%)
24–26
1,623 products (3%)
26–28
1,606 products (3%)
28–30
1,360 products (2%)
30–32
1,198 products (2%)
32–34
1,081 products (2%)
34–36
901 products (1%)
36–38
649 products (1%)
38–40
534 products (1%)
40 and above
1,655 products (3%)

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 63,434 Plant-based foods and beverages 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
Potatoes
2
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
3
Tapioca Starch
NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
4
Enriched Flour
5
Wheat Flour
6
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
7
Iron
8
Thiamin Mononitrate
9
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
10
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
11
Corn Starch
12
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
13
Sour Cream
14
Cream
15
Skim Milk
16
Cultures
17
Corn Starch
18
Cheddar Cheese
19
Milk
20
Cheese Cultures
21
Enzymes
22
Onion
23
Dextrose
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
Cut Back GRAS
24
Potassium Phosphate
25
Sunflower Oil
26
Natural And Artificial Flavor
27
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
28
Msg
29
Vegetable Oil
30
Canola
31
Soybean
32
Mono And Diglycerides
33
Buttermilk
34
Calcium Stearoyl-2-lactylate
DOUGH STRENGTHENER, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Approved
35
Wheat Starch
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
36
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
37
Enzyme Modified Cheddar Cheese
38
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
39
Soy Flour
40
Calcium Lactate
DOUGH STRENGTHENER, FIRMING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
41
Enzyme Modified Cream
42
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
43
Anticaking Agent
44
Sodium Phosphate
45
Nonfat Milk
46
Yeast Extract
47
Color
48
Yellow Lakes 5 & 6
49
Beta Carotene
50
Lactose
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, OXIDIZING OR REDUCING AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
51
Blue Cheese
52
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
53
Enzyme Modified Blue Cheese
54
Soy Lecithin
55
Spice
56
Disodium Inosinate And Guanylate. Freshness Preserved By Sodium Metabisulfite
57
Bht. Dried

Full Ingredient List

Potatoes*, salt, modified tapioca starch, enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), corn starch, maltodextrin, sour cream* (cream,skim milk,cultures), modified corn starch, cheddar cheese* (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), onion*, dextrose, potassium phosphate, sunflower oil, natural and artificial flavor, whey, monosodium glutamate, vegetable oil (canola, soybean and/or sunflower oil), mono and diglycerides, buttermilk, calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate, wheat starch, garlic*, enzyme modified cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), lactic acid, soy flour, calcium lactate, enzyme modified cream, silicon dioxide (anticaking agent), sodium phosphate, nonfat milk, yeast extract, color (yellow lakes 5 & 6, beta carotene), lactose, blue cheese* (milk, salt, cheese cultures, enzymes), citric acid, enzyme modified blue cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), soy lecithin, spice, disodium inosinate and guanylate. freshness preserved by sodium metabisulfite, bht. *dried

Categories

Plant-based foods and beverages Plant-based foods Fruits and vegetables based foods Vegetables based foods

Read the longer label in layers

Read the longer label in layers

Betty Crocker Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes has a longer ingredient list than 100% of its Plant-based foods and beverages 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 0016000279216: 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.