Cheesy mac & beef

by Banquet

100
Safe
Safety Score (out of 100)

Cheesy mac & beef by Banquet 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
0031000007102
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed
Serving Size
1 Meal (198 g) (198 g)

What the Data Says About

Cheesy mac & beef by Banquet 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, Cheesy mac & beef 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.

Safety Profile at a Glance

Composite safety metrics for Cheesy mac & beef
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 Not available OpenFoodFacts

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

Ingredient Safety Analysis

1
Macaroni
2
Beef And Cheese Sauce: Cooked Pasta: Water
3
Elbow Macaroni
4
Enriched Pasta
5
Durum Wheat Semolina
6
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
7
Ferrous Sulfate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
8
Thiamin Mononitrate
9
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
10
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
11
Cooked Beef Crumbles: Beef
12
Seasoning
13
Flavorings
14
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
15
Spices
16
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
17
Tomato Paste
18
Soybean Oil
19
Cheddar Club Cheese: Pasteurized Cultured Milk
20
Enzymes
21
Annatto
Coloring
Certain People Should Avoid
22
Color
23
The Following: Whey
24
Corn Starch
25
Organic Onions
26
Nonfat Dry Milk
27
Cheese Flavor
28
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
29
Cheese
30
Granular And Blue {Pasteurized Milk
31
Cheese Culture
32
Enzyme}
33
Sunflower Oil
34
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
35
Sodium Phosphate
36
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
37
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
38
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
39
Sodium Phosphates
40
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
41
Guar Gum
42
Beta Carotene
43
Milk
44
Wheat

Full Ingredient List

MACARONI, BEEF AND CHEESE SAUCE: COOKED PASTA: Water, Elbow Macaroni (Enriched Pasta [Durum Wheat Semolina, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid]), COOKED BEEF CRUMBLES: Beef, Seasoning (Flavorings, Salt, Spices, Dextrose), Tomato Paste, Salt, Soybean Oil, CHEDDAR CLUB CHEESE: Pasteurized Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto (Color), Contains less than 2% of the following: Modified Whey, Soybean Oil, Modified Corn Starch, Onions, Nonfat Dry Milk, Cheese Flavor (Whey, Cheese [Granular and Blue {Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzyme}], Sunflower Oil, Maltodextrin, Salt, Sodium Phosphate, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid), Salt, Sugar, Sodium Phosphates, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Guar Gum, Beta Carotene (Color). CONTAINS: MILK, WHEAT.

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