Safe

Shells & Cheese Queso Blanco Microwaveable Shell Pasta & Cheese Sauce, Shells & Cheese

by Velveeta

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0021000042524 · Velveeta · Meals. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0021000042524 · Serving size 1 PACKAGE (68 g)

The verdict

Shells & Cheese Queso Blanco Microwaveable Shell Pasta & Cheese Sauce, Shells & Cheese by Velveeta scores 100/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 32 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 32-component record, beginning with Enriched Macaroni Product, Wheat Flour, Glyceryl Monostearate. 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 32 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
D
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

63/100

Grade C+

Ingredient Safety

100/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

D

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.

00042524 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Shells & Cheese Queso Blanco Microwaveable Shell Pasta & Cheese Sauce, Shells & Cheese label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 100/100 FLAG-CLEAN 0 flagged LEN-DENSE 32 ing. REG-PART 31% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-D Nutri-D RANK-MID Len top 44% LEAD-RARE Glyceryl Monostearate PHOTO-FINISH Chicken With White · ±0 BOOK-OFF …042524 · July 2026

10 of 32 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Glyceryl Monostearate). Source sheet 00042524 · 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.

This label falls in the fourth Nutri-Score band. The model arrives there when its penalty terms — energy density, sugars, saturated fat, sodium — carry more weight in the calculation than the fibre, protein and produce content it credits. The band covers a wide span of the points scale, so position within it is not visible from the letter alone. The grade reflects the declared nutrition panel and is unrelated to the additive ratings listed below, which come from different bodies applying different criteria.

This label parsed into a long component list. Where many entries are screened at once, the composite tends to reflect the overall mix of registry ratings returned rather than the rating of any one entry. Longer declarations also carry more sub-listed and compound entries, where a parenthetical group is resolved into its parts, so the parsed count can exceed what a reader counts on the packaging.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Shells & Cheese Queso Blanco Microwaveable Shell Pasta & Cheese Sauce, Shells & Cheese: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Shells & Cheese Queso Bla…100/1002. 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. Chicken Parmesan Creamy Cheese Sauce With Pasta, Breading Mix & Seasoning Cheesy Skillets Dinner Kit, Chicken Parmesan: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Chicken Parmesan Creamy C…100/1004. Chunky Blue Cheese: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Chunky Blue Cheese100/1005. Recipe Makers, Verde Chicken Enchilada: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Recipe Makers, Verde Chic…100/100
High-band neighbours for Shells & Cheese Queso Blanco Microwaveable Shell Pasta & Cheese Sauce, Shells & Cheese (100/100) outside Velveeta.
Chart values as text

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

Shells & Cheese Queso Blanco Microwaveable Shell Pasta & Cheese Sauce, Shells & Cheese
100/100
Chicken With White & Wild Rice Soup, Chicken With White & Wild Rice
100/100
Chicken Parmesan Creamy Cheese Sauce With Pasta, Breading Mix & Seasoning Cheesy Skillets Dinner Kit, Chicken Parmesan
100/100
Chunky Blue Cheese
100/100
Recipe Makers, Verde Chicken Enchilada
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. Shells & Cheese Queso Blanco Microwaveable Shell Pasta & Cheese Sauce, Shells & Cheese 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

Shells & Cheese Queso Blanco Microwaveable Shell Pasta & Cheese Sauce, Shells & Cheese lists 32 ingredients on its label

32 56th percentile a longer ingredient list than 56% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 34–36: 451 products (4%). Above this entry. 36–38: 443 products (4%). Above this entry. 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: 32 (56th 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 Macaroni Product
2
Wheat Flour
3
Glyceryl Monostearate
EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FIRMING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MASTICATORY SUBSTANCE, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
4
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
5
Ferrous Sulfate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
6
Iron
7
Thiamin Mononitrate
8
Vitamin B1
9
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
10
Vitamin B2
11
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
12
Cheese Sauce
13
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
14
Milk
15
Canola Oil
16
Milk Protein Concentrate
17
Sodium Phosphate
18
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
19
Whey Protein Concentrate
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
20
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
21
Sodium Alginate
22
Sorbic Acid As A Preservative
23
Enzymes
24
Annatto Extract
25
Color
26
Natural Flavor
27
Oleoresin Paprika
28
Cheese Culture
29
Modified Food Starch
30
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
31
Acetylated Monoglycerides
32
Medium Chain Triglycerides

Full Ingredient List

Enriched Macaroni Product (Wheat Flour, Glyceryl Monostearate, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate [Iron], Thiamin Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid); Cheese Sauce (Whey, Milk, Canola Oil, Milk Protein Concentrate, Contains Less Than 2% Of Sodium Phosphate, Salt, Whey Protein Concentrate, Lactic Acid, Sodium Alginate, Sorbic Acid As A Preservative, Enzymes, Annatto Extract [Color], Natural Flavor, Oleoresin Paprika [Color], Cheese Culture); Modified Food Starch, Maltodextrin, Acetylated Monoglycerides, Salt, Medium Chain Triglycerides.

Categories

Meals Pasta dishes

High-score cross-brand comparables for Shells & Cheese Queso Blanco Microwaveable Shell Pasta & Cheese Sauce, Shells & Cheese

Neighbours outside Velveeta with screening scores in the same high band as Shells & Cheese Queso Blanco Microwaveable Shell Pasta & Cheese Sauce, Shells & Cheese (100/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Velveeta; these peers cross brands.

Trace this label’s coverage

Trace this label’s coverage

10 of 32 parsed ingredients on Shells & Cheese Queso Blanco Microwaveable Shell Pasta & Cheese Sauce, Shells & Cheese match at least one source registry. Use the ingredient records to see which entries carry source context and which remain unmatched.

  • Review Glyceryl Monostearate as the most distinctive source-covered entry on this label. Inspect ingredients
  • Compare this product with a nearby cross-brand screening score. Compare labels
  • Read the methodology before treating source coverage as a food, medical, or dietary conclusion. Read the boundary

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

Barcode 0021000042524: 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.