Creamy Cheese Sauce With Rotini Pasta & Salsa, Salsa Con Queso

by Velveeta

100
Safe
Safety Score (out of 100)

Creamy Cheese Sauce With Rotini Pasta & Salsa, Salsa Con Queso by Velveeta receives a safety score of 100/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. None of the ingredients in this product are flagged for safety concerns by FDA or CSPI databases. Product label data is sourced from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative database. See the full ingredient breakdown and safety assessment below.

Barcode
0021000065547
Nutri-Score
d
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed
Serving Size
3 ONZ (84 g)

What the Data Says About

Creamy Cheese Sauce With Rotini Pasta & Salsa, Salsa Con Queso by Velveeta carries a composite safety score of 100/100, which we classify as "Safe" on our four-tier shelf-label framework. The score is computed by mapping each labeled ingredient against FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) regulatory status and CSPI Chemical Cuisine classifications, then penalizing the overall product for each additive rated as caution-or-worse. Product data originates from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative catalog; safety annotations come from federal regulators and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Our scan did not identify any ingredients in this product that FDA SAFFA or CSPI Chemical Cuisine data flags as requiring caution or avoidance at the time of analysis. That is a meaningful clean-label signal, though it does not account for personal allergens, regional recalls, or inspection findings not reflected in federal additive databases. The per-ingredient breakdown below shows the source-level classification for each component.

On the NOVA processing scale, Creamy Cheese Sauce With Rotini Pasta & Salsa, Salsa Con Queso is classified as Group 4 (Ultra-processed). NOVA measures industrial processing intensity rather than ingredient-level safety, so it complements the SAFFA and CSPI ratings: a product can be clean on additive flags but heavily processed, or lightly processed but carry individually flagged ingredients. Combining both lenses gives a fuller picture than either alone. The Nutri-Score grade of D reflects nutritional balance — calories, saturated fat, sugar, sodium versus fiber, protein, and produce content — which again is a distinct dimension from additive safety and worth weighing alongside the scores above.

Safety Profile at a Glance

Composite safety metrics for Creamy Cheese Sauce With Rotini Pasta & Salsa, Salsa Con Queso
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 100/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 0 CSPI/FDA review
NOVA processing group Group 4 OpenFoodFacts
Nutri-Score D OpenFoodFacts

Composite metric derived from FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine, OpenFoodFacts. See methodology.

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
Cheddar Cheese
4
Milk
5
Cheese Culture
6
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
7
Enzymes
8
Canola Oil
9
Whey Protein Concentrate
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
10
Milk Protein Concentrate
11
Sodium Phosphate
12
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
13
Sodium Alginate
14
Sorbic Acid As A Preservative
15
Milkfat
16
Oleoresin Paprika
17
Color
18
Annatto Extract
19
Natural Flavor
20
Enriched Pasta Product
21
Wheat Flour
22
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
23
Ferrous Sulfate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
24
Iron
25
Thiamin Mononitrate
26
Vitamin B1
27
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
28
Vitamin B2
29
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
30
Salsa
31
Diced Tomatoes
32
Tomato Juice
33
Water
34
Green Chili Peppers
35
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
36
Xanthan Gum
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FORMULATION AID, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Approved
37
Mustard
38
Spice

Full Ingredient List

Cheese Sauce (Whey, Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Canola Oil, Whey Protein Concentrate, Milk, Milk Protein Concentrate, Sodium Phosphate, Contains Less Than 2% Of Salt, Lactic Acid, Sodium Alginate, Sorbic Acid As A Preservative, Milkfat, Oleoresin Paprika [Color], Cheese Culture, Annatto Extract [Color], Natural Flavor, Enzymes); Enriched Pasta Product (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate [Iron], Thiamin Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid); Salsa (Diced Tomatoes, Tomato Juice, Water, Green Chili Peppers, Salt, Sugar, Xanthan Gum, Natural Flavor [Contains Mustard], Spice).

Categories

Meals Pasta dishes

Data Sources

Data as of 2025. Source: OpenFoodFacts, FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine.

Product data from OpenFoodFacts (ODbL). Ingredient safety ratings from FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine. See our methodology for details.

This information is for reference only and does not constitute dietary or medical advice.

Related

Data sourced from official FDA, USDA, and CDC food-safety databases. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFoodSafe Editorial