Safe

Cheesy Potatoes

by Velveeta

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0021000042371 · Velveeta · Meals. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0021000042371 · Serving size 0.2 BOX (MAKES ABOUT 0.5 CUP) (55 g)

The verdict

Cheesy Potatoes by Velveeta scores 100/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 46 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 46-component record, beginning with Cheese Sauce, Whey, Milk. 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 46 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.

00042371 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Cheesy Potatoes label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 100/100 FLAG-CLEAN 0 flagged LEN-DENSE 46 ing. REG-SPARSE 28% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-SHORT Len top 20% LEAD-RARE Torula yeast PHOTO-FINISH Chicken With White · ±0 BOOK-OFF …042371 · July 2026

13 of 46 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Torula yeast). Source sheet 00042371 · 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: Chicken With White & Wild Rice Soup, Chicken With White & Wild Rice · Nearest score peer is Chicken With White & Wild Rice Soup, Chicken With White & Wild Rice 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. Cheesy Potatoes: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Cheesy Potatoes100/1002. Chicken With White & Wild Rice Soup, Chicken With White & Wild Rice: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Chicken With White & Wild…100/1003. Sour Cream: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Sour Cream100/1004. Reduced Fat Sour Cream: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Reduced Fat Sour Cream100/1005. Chicken Parmesan Creamy Cheese Sauce With Pasta, Breading Mix & Seasoning Cheesy Skillets Dinner Kit, Chicken Parmesan: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Chicken Parmesan Creamy C…100/100
High-band neighbours for Cheesy Potatoes (100/100) outside Velveeta.
Chart values as text

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

Cheesy Potatoes
100/100
Chicken With White & Wild Rice Soup, Chicken With White & Wild Rice
100/100
Sour Cream
100/100
Reduced Fat Sour Cream
100/100
Chicken Parmesan Creamy Cheese Sauce With Pasta, Breading Mix & Seasoning Cheesy Skillets Dinner Kit, Chicken Parmesan
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. Cheesy Potatoes 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

Cheesy Potatoes lists 46 ingredients on its label

46 80th percentile a longer ingredient list than 80% 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%). Below this entry. 40–42: 3,204 products (28%). This entry sits in this band. 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: 46 (80th 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
Cheese Sauce
2
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
3
Milk
4
Cheddar Cheese
5
Cheese Culture
6
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
7
Enzymes
8
Whey Protein Concentrate
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
9
Canola Oil
10
Milk Protein Concentrate
11
Sodium Phosphate
12
Enzyme Modified Cheese
13
Water
14
Milkfat
15
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
16
Sodium Alginate
17
Sorbic Acid As A Preservative
18
Oleoresin Paprika
19
Color
20
Annatto Extract
21
Natural Flavor
22
Potatoes And Vegetables
23
Potatoes
24
Organic Onions
25
Green Bell Peppers
26
Dried Red Bell Peppers
27
Spice Blend
28
Autolyzed yeast extract
Flavoring
Certain People Should Avoid
29
Spice
30
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
31
Celery Seed And Natural Smoke Flavor
32
Onion
33
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
34
Torula yeast
Flavoring
Safe
35
Tomato
36
Gum Arabic
37
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
38
Sunflower Oil
39
Modified Food Starch
40
Corn Syrup Solids
41
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
42
Silicon Dioxide As An Anticaking Agent
43
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
44
Disodium Inosinate
FLAVOR ENHANCER, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
Approved
45
Disodium Guanylate
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
Approved
46
Artificial Flavor

Full Ingredient List

Cheese Sauce (Whey, Milk, Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Whey Protein Concentrate, Canola Oil, Milk Protein Concentrate, Sodium Phosphate, Contains Less Than 2% Of Salt, Enzyme Modified Cheese [Milk, Water, Sodium Phosphate, Milkfat, Salt, Cheese Culture, Enzymes], Lactic Acid, Milkfat, Sodium Alginate, Sorbic Acid As A Preservative, Oleoresin Paprika [Color], Annatto Extract [Color], Enzymes, Natural Flavor, Cheese Culture): Potatoes And Vegetables* (Potatoes, Onions, Green Bell Peppers, Red Bell Peppers); Spice Blend (Salt, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Spice, Dextrose, Natural Flavor (Contains Celery Seed And Natural Smoke Flavor), Onion*, Maltodextrin, Torula Yeast*, Tomato*, Gum Arabic, Garlic*, Sunflower Oil, Modified Food Starch, Corn Syrup Solids, Sugar, Silicon Dioxide As An Anticaking Agent, Citric Acid, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate, Artificial Flavor).

Categories

Meals

High-score cross-brand comparables for Cheesy Potatoes

Neighbours outside Velveeta with screening scores in the same high band as Cheesy Potatoes (100/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Velveeta; these peers cross brands.

Read the longer label in layers

Read the longer label in layers

Cheesy Potatoes has a longer ingredient list than 80% 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 0021000042371: 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.