Caution

Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0016000419780 · Meals. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0016000419780 · Serving size 0.33 cup (34 g)

The verdict

Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni scores 75/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 37 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 1 ingredient is 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.

75/100
Caution safety score
1
One 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

45/100

Grade D

Ingredient Safety

75/100

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.

00419780 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 75/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 37 ing. REG-PART 32% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-MID Len top 33% LEAD-FLAG Yellow 5 PHOTO-SOLO No peers BOOK-OFF …419780 · July 2026

12 of 37 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Yellow 5). Source sheet 00419780 · 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

The composite for this product falls in the second band of the four-tier framework. That band collects labels whose registry-rated components pull the derived score down measurably without dominating it. Position inside a band is not visible from the band name, and two labels sharing it can differ in how many components were rated and how severely. This is a threshold on an index computed here from public data, not a regulatory classification of any kind; the exact cut-offs are published 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 15,626 products we've scored in the Meals category, the average safety score is 93.6/100. Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni scores 18.6 points below that category average (75/100 vs. 93.6/100), 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 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

How the 75/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (1 flagged of 37 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

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
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
10
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
11
Ricotta Cheese
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
Milkfat
14
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
15
Tomato
16
Onion
17
Natural Flavor
18
Corn Starch
19
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
20
Vegetable Oil
21
Canola
22
Soybean
23
Sunflower Oil
24
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
25
Spice
26
Disodium Inosinate And Guanylate
27
Color
28
Yellow Lakes 5
29
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
30
Monoglycerides
31
Cheddar Cheese
32
Milk
33
Cheese Cultures
34
Enzymes
35
Sodium Phosphate
36
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
37
Anticaking Agent

Full Ingredient List

enriched elbow macaroni (wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), corn starch, wheat flour, salt, sugar, ricotta cheese* (whey, milkfat, lactic acid, salt), tomato*, onion*, contains less than 0,5% of: natural flavor, modified corn starch, citric acid, vegetable oil (canola, soybean and/or sunflower oil), whey, maltodextrin, spice, disodium inosinate and guanylate, color (yellow lakes 5 , 6, yellow 5 , 6), monoglycerides, cheddar cheese* (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), sodium phosphate, silicon dioxide (anticaking agent),

Categories

Meals Pasta dishes

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Yellow 5 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 37-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Yellow 5. Open Yellow 5
  • Compare Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni's 1 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 0016000419780: 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.