Avoid

Beef Pasta

by Hamburger Helper

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0016000487017 · Hamburger Helper · Meals. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0016000487017 · Serving size 0.33 cup (30 g)

The verdict

Beef Pasta by Hamburger Helper scores 45/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 39 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 39-component record, beginning with Enriched Pasta, 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.

45/100
Avoid safety score
3
Few flagged · of 39 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

30/100

Grade F

Ingredient Safety

45/100

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.

00487017 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Beef Pasta label screening desk

SCORE-AVOID 45/100 FLAG-FEW 3 flagged LEN-DENSE 39 ing. REG-PART 44% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-MID Len top 30% LEAD-FLAG Yellow 5 PHOTO-FINISH Fruit Gushers, Fruit · ±0 BOOK-OFF …487017 · July 2026

17 of 39 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Yellow 5). Source sheet 00487017 · 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: Fruit Gushers, Fruit Flavored Snacks, Hawaiian Punch, Hawaiian Punch · Nearest score peer is Fruit Gushers, Fruit Flavored Snacks, Hawaiian Punch, Hawaiian Punch 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.

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. Beef Pasta: 45/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Beef Pasta45/1002. Fruit Gushers, Fruit Flavored Snacks, Hawaiian Punch, Hawaiian Punch: 45/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Fruit Gushers, Fruit Flav…45/1003. Fruit Flavored Snacks, Punch, Strawberry Sensation: 45/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Fruit Flavored Snacks, Pu…45/1004. Minions Colored Rolls Inside Fruit Snack: 45/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Minions Colored Rolls Ins…45/1005. Gushers Flavor Mixers: 45/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Gushers Flavor Mixers45/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Beef Pasta (45/100 on 39 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

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

Beef Pasta
45/100
Fruit Gushers, Fruit Flavored Snacks, Hawaiian Punch, Hawaiian Punch
45/100
Fruit Flavored Snacks, Punch, Strawberry Sensation
45/100
Minions Colored Rolls Inside Fruit Snack
45/100
Gushers Flavor Mixers
45/100

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. Beef Pasta scores 48.6 points below that category average (45/100 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

Beef Pasta lists 39 ingredients on its label

39 70th percentile a longer ingredient list than 70% 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%). Below this entry. 38–40: 388 products (3%). This entry sits in this band. 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: 39 (70th 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 45/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (3 flagged of 39 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Enriched Pasta
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
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
10
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
11
Enriched Flour
12
Iron
13
Onion Monosodium Glutamate
14
Color
15
Caramel Coloring
Coloring
Avoid Approved (color additive, GRAS)
16
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
17
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
18
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
Flavoring
Certain People Should Avoid
19
Corn
20
Soy
21
Potassium Chloride
ENZYME, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
22
Yeast Extract
23
Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
24
Natural Flavor
25
Spice
26
Monoglycerides
27
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
28
Dried Beef Stock
29
Corn Syrup
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, HUMECTANT, LEAVENING AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, TEXTURIZER
Cut Back GRAS
30
Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten
31
Beef Fat
32
Sulfiting Agents
ANTIOXIDANT
GRAS
33
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
34
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
35
Dehydrated Soy Sauce
36
Soybeans
37
Wheat
38
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
39
Anticaking Agent

Full Ingredient List

Enriched Pasta (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Corn Starch, Maltodextrin, Salt, Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Onion* Monosodium Glutamate, Color (Caramel Color, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 5), Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (Corn, Soy), Potassium Chloride, Yeast Extract, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Flavor, Spice, Monoglycerides, Sugar, Beef Stock, Corn Syrup*, Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten, Beef Fat, Sulfiting Agents, Citric Acid, Garlic*, Soy Sauce* (Soybeans, Wheat, Salt), Silicon Dioxide (Anticaking Agent).

Categories

Meals Pasta dishes

Lower-score cross-brand comparables for Beef Pasta

Neighbours outside Hamburger Helper in the same lower screening band as Beef Pasta (45/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Hamburger Helper; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Yellow 5 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Beef Pasta's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 39-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Yellow 5. Open Yellow 5
  • Compare Beef Pasta'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 0016000487017: 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.