Concern

Cheez balls, cheese

by Planters

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0029000023864 · Planters · Snacks. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0029000023864 · Serving size 1 ONZ (28 g)

The verdict

Cheez balls, cheese by Planters scores 50/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 25 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 2 ingredients are flagged for caution. The 25-component label is layered, beginning with Degerminated Yellow Corn Meal, Soybean, Corn. Start with any flagged rows, then check the nutrition grade and serving size instead of treating one roll-up score as the whole decision. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

50/100
Concern safety score
2
Few flagged · of 25 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

38/100

Grade F

Ingredient Safety

50/100

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.

00023864 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Cheez balls, cheese label screening desk

SCORE-CONC 50/100 FLAG-FEW 2 flagged LEN-LAYERED 25 ing. REG-PART 40% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-D Nutri-D RANK-MID Len top 28% LEAD-FLAG Yellow 6 PHOTO-FINISH Pineapple · ±0 BOOK-OFF …023864 · July 2026

10 of 25 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Yellow 6). Source sheet 00023864 · 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: Pineapple · Nearest score peer is Pineapple at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

How Nutri-Score, NOVA, and list length read this record

This label lands in the third of four positions on the published scale. What separates that position from its neighbours is arithmetic rather than judgement: identical inputs run through the documented weighting always arrive at the same place. Anyone who works the calculation through by hand, using the methodology write-up together with the itemised ratings further down, will reproduce this number exactly — which is the reason for publishing a computed figure instead of an opinion.

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. Cheez balls, cheese: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Cheez balls, cheese50/1002. Pineapple: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Pineapple50/1003. Orange soda: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Orange soda50/1004. Orange Soda: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Orange Soda50/1005. Orange sports drink: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Orange sports drink50/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Cheez balls, cheese (50/100 on 25 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

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

Cheez balls, cheese
50/100
Pineapple
50/100
Orange soda
50/100
Orange Soda
50/100
Orange sports drink
50/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 88,006 products we've scored in the Snacks category, the average safety score is 86.1/100. Cheez balls, cheese scores 36.1 points below that category average (50/100 vs. 86.1/100), 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 Snacks products

Cheez balls, cheese lists 25 ingredients on its label

25 72nd percentile a longer ingredient list than 72% of the 81,477 products we track

0–2: 275 products (0%). Below this entry. 2–4: 2,901 products (4%). Below this entry. 4–6: 4,248 products (5%). Below this entry. 6–8: 5,408 products (7%). Below this entry. 8–10: 5,486 products (7%). Below this entry. 10–12: 5,840 products (7%). Below this entry. 12–14: 6,252 products (8%). Below this entry. 14–16: 6,724 products (8%). Below this entry. 16–18: 6,221 products (8%). Below this entry. 18–20: 5,168 products (6%). Below this entry. 20–22: 4,508 products (6%). Below this entry. 22–24: 3,809 products (5%). Below this entry. 24–26: 3,567 products (4%). This entry sits in this band. 26–28: 2,829 products (3%). Above this entry. 28–30: 2,282 products (3%). Above this entry. 30–32: 1,905 products (2%). Above this entry. 32–34: 1,715 products (2%). Above this entry. 34–36: 1,572 products (2%). Above this entry. 36–38: 1,417 products (2%). Above this entry. 38–40: 1,284 products (2%). Above this entry. 40–42: 8,066 products (10%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Snacks 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

81,477 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 25 (72nd percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
275 products (0%)
2–4
2,901 products (4%)
4–6
4,248 products (5%)
6–8
5,408 products (7%)
8–10
5,486 products (7%)
10–12
5,840 products (7%)
12–14
6,252 products (8%)
14–16
6,724 products (8%)
16–18
6,221 products (8%)
18–20
5,168 products (6%)
20–22
4,508 products (6%)
22–24
3,809 products (5%)
24–26
3,567 products (4%)
26–28
2,829 products (3%)
28–30
2,282 products (3%)
30–32
1,905 products (2%)
32–34
1,715 products (2%)
34–36
1,572 products (2%)
36–38
1,417 products (2%)
38–40
1,284 products (2%)
40 and above
8,066 products (10%)

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 81,477 Snacks 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 50/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (2 flagged of 25 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Degerminated Yellow Corn Meal
2
Soybean
3
Corn
4
Canola Oil
5
Cheese Blend
6
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
7
From Milk
8
Semisoft Cheese
9
Pasteurized Milk
10
Cheese Culture
11
Salt Enzymes
12
Sunflower Oil
13
Lactose
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, OXIDIZING OR REDUCING AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
14
Modified Food Starch
15
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
16
Whey Protein Concentrate
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
17
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
18
Sodium Phosphate
19
Natural Flavor
20
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
21
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
22
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
23
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
24
Annatto
Coloring
Certain People Should Avoid
25
Color

Full Ingredient List

degerminated yellow corn meal, soybean and/or corn and/or canola oil, dried cheese blend (whey [from milk], semisoft cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt enzymes], sunflower oil, lactose, modified food starch, maltodextrin, whey protein concentrate, salt, sodium phosphate, natural flavor, citric acid, lactic acid, yellow 6, yellow 5, annatto [color]),

Categories

Snacks

Mid-score cross-brand comparables for Cheez balls, cheese

Neighbours outside Planters near Cheez balls, cheese's mid-band score (50/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Planters; these peers cross brands.

Same mid-band screening score

Nearest cross-brand products by screening score (2 flagged of 25 on 0029000023864).

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Yellow 6 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Cheez balls, cheese's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 25-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Yellow 6. Open Yellow 6
  • Compare Cheez balls, cheese's 2 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 0029000023864: 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.