Caution

Bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese elbow macaroni, with beef & smoky bacon in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce entree, bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0036800023451 · Frozen foods. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0036800023451 · Serving size 1 cup (228 g)

The verdict

Bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese elbow macaroni, with beef & smoky bacon in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce entree, bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese scores 85/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 51 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 1 ingredient is flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 51-component record, beginning with Water, Macaroni Noodles, Durum Wheat Semolina. 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.

85/100
Caution safety score
1
One flagged · of 51 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
C
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

60/100

Grade C+

Ingredient Safety

85/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

C

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.

00023451 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese elbow macaroni, with beef & smoky bacon in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce entree, bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 85/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 51 ing. REG-SPARSE 22% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-C Nutri-C RANK-SHORT Len top 20% LEAD-FLAG Sodium Nitrite PHOTO-SOLO No peers BOOK-OFF …023451 · July 2026

11 of 51 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Sodium Nitrite). Source sheet 00023451 · 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

Screening model notes

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

The composite for this product falls in the second band of the four-tier framework. That band collects labels whose registry-rated components pull the derived score down measurably without dominating it. Position inside a band is not visible from the band name, and two labels sharing it can differ in how many components were rated and how severely. This is a threshold on an index computed here from public data, not a regulatory classification of any kind; the exact cut-offs are published on the methodology page.

Nutri-Score settled on its middle grade here, the band the algorithm produces when the penalty and credit sides of its nutrient ledger come out close to balanced. A mid-scale grade is a statement about the panel as a whole rather than about any single nutrient, and products arrive at it by very different routes: a moderate profile across every term, or high marks on some offset by heavy penalties on others. The grade is computed separately from the ingredient screen below and the two are not comparable measures.

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.

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 24,982 products we've scored in the Frozen foods category, the average safety score is 92.9/100. Bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese elbow macaroni, with beef & smoky bacon in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce entree, bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese scores 7.9 points below that category average (85/100 vs. 92.9/100), 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 Frozen foods products

Bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese elbow macaroni, with beef & smoky bacon in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce entree, bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese lists 51 ingredients on its label

51 80th percentile a longer ingredient list than 80% of the 7,008 products we track

0–2: 11 products (0%). Below this entry. 2–4: 54 products (1%). Below this entry. 4–6: 54 products (1%). Below this entry. 6–8: 66 products (1%). Below this entry. 8–10: 102 products (1%). Below this entry. 10–12: 112 products (2%). Below this entry. 12–14: 184 products (3%). Below this entry. 14–16: 205 products (3%). Below this entry. 16–18: 245 products (3%). Below this entry. 18–20: 284 products (4%). Below this entry. 20–22: 264 products (4%). Below this entry. 22–24: 298 products (4%). Below this entry. 24–26: 247 products (4%). Below this entry. 26–28: 271 products (4%). Below this entry. 28–30: 284 products (4%). Below this entry. 30–32: 294 products (4%). Below this entry. 32–34: 325 products (5%). Below this entry. 34–36: 319 products (5%). Below this entry. 36–38: 314 products (4%). Below this entry. 38–40: 283 products (4%). Below this entry. 40–42: 2,792 products (40%). This entry sits in this band. This product 0 42 every published Frozen foods 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

7,008 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 51 (80th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
11 products (0%)
2–4
54 products (1%)
4–6
54 products (1%)
6–8
66 products (1%)
8–10
102 products (1%)
10–12
112 products (2%)
12–14
184 products (3%)
14–16
205 products (3%)
16–18
245 products (3%)
18–20
284 products (4%)
20–22
264 products (4%)
22–24
298 products (4%)
24–26
247 products (4%)
26–28
271 products (4%)
28–30
284 products (4%)
30–32
294 products (4%)
32–34
325 products (5%)
34–36
319 products (5%)
36–38
314 products (4%)
38–40
283 products (4%)
40 and above
2,792 products (40%)

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 7,008 Frozen foods 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 85/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (1 flagged of 51 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Water
 2
Macaroni Noodles
 3
Durum Wheat Semolina
 4
Beef
 5
Cheddar Cheese
 6
Milk
 7
Cheese Culture
 8
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
9
Calcium Chloride
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, ENZYME, FIRMING AGENT, FREEZING OR COOLING AGENT, DIRECT CONTACT, FUMIGANT, HUMECTANT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING
GRAS
10
Enzymes
 11
Color
 12
Organic Non-fat Dry Milk
 13
Fully Cooked Bacon Pieces
 14
Pork
 15
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
16
Brown Sugar
 17
Maple Flavor
 18
Artificial Maple Flavor
 19
Sodium Phosphate
 20
Sodium Erythorbate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DOUGH STRENGTHENER, FLOUR TREATING AGENT, OXIDIZING OR REDUCING AGENT, PROCESSING AID, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT
Safe GRAS
21
Sodium Nitrite
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PROPELLANT
Avoid Prior Sanctioned
22
Including Smoke
 23
Natural Smoke Flavor
 24
Cornstarch
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
25
Organic Cheddar Cheese Base
 26
Cheddar And Blue Cheeses
 27
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
28
Corn Oil
 29
Yeast Extract
 30
Sweet Cream Powder
 31
Sweet Cream
 32
Non-fat Milk
 33
Butter
 34
Cream
 35
Natural Flavor
 36
Dry Mustard
 37
Natural Flavor
 38
Prepared Cheddar Cheese Product
 39
Whey Protein Concentrate
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
40
Whey Powder
 41
Milk Protein Concentrate
 42
Ultrafiltered Milk
 43
Potassium Sorbate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT
Safe GRAS
44
Guar Gum
 45
Dehydrated Vegetables
 46
Onion
 47
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
48
Tomato
 49
Annatto
Coloring
Certain People Should Avoid
50
For Color
 51
Spice

Full Ingredient List

Water, macaroni noodles (water, durum wheat semolina), beef, cheddar cheese (milk, cheese culture, salt, calcium chloride, enzymes, color), non-fat dry milk, fully cooked bacon pieces (pork, water, salt, sugar, may contain dextrose and/or brown sugar and/or maple flavor, and/or artificial maple flavor, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, smoke, smoke flavor), modified cornstarch, cheddar cheese base (cheddar and blue cheeses [(milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), whey, water, salt], salt, corn oil, yeast extract, sweet cream powder [sweet cream, non-fat milk], butter [cream, natural flavor], sugar, dry mustard, flavor), prepared cheddar cheese product (milk, whey protein concentrate and/or whey powder and/or milk protein concentrate and/or ultrafiltered milk, cream, cheese culture, salt, color, enzymes, water, potassium sorbate, guar gum), flavor (salt, dehydrated vegetables [onion, garlic, tomato], yeast extract, flavor, smoke flavor), annatto (for color), spice.

Categories

Frozen foods

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Sodium Nitrite is the first flagged ingredient selected from Bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese elbow macaroni, with beef & smoky bacon in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce entree, bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 51-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Sodium Nitrite. Open Sodium Nitrite
  • Compare Bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese elbow macaroni, with beef & smoky bacon in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce entree, bacon cheeseburger macaroni & cheese's 1 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 0036800023451: 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.