Caution

Taco dinner kit includes shells, sauce & seasoning mix, taco

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0036800822856 · Mexican-dinner-mixes. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0036800822856 · Serving size 3 TACO SHELLS, 1/4 SALSA PKG, 1/4 SEASONING PKG (63 g)

The verdict

Taco dinner kit includes shells, sauce & seasoning mix, taco scores 85/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 33 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 33-component record, beginning with Yellow Corn Flour Masa, Vegetable Oils, Soybean. 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 33 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
E
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

50/100

Grade C-

Ingredient Safety

85/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

E

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.

00822856 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Taco dinner kit includes shells, sauce & seasoning mix, taco label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 85/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 33 ing. REG-SPARSE 21% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-SHORT Len top 8% LEAD-FLAG TBHQ PHOTO-SOLO No peers BOOK-OFF …822856 · July 2026

7 of 33 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: TBHQ). Source sheet 00822856 · 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 assigned its lowest band to this label. The algorithm reserves that grade for nutrition panels where the values it penalises sit well above the components it credits. The two systems on this page measure genuinely different things: a product can hold this grade while carrying no additive flagged by the registries screened below, and a product graded well can carry several. Neither reading substitutes for the other, and the per-component table is where the additive picture is set out.

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.

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 935 products we've scored in the Mexican-dinner-mixes category, the average safety score is 97.6/100. Taco dinner kit includes shells, sauce & seasoning mix, taco scores 12.6 points below that category average (85/100 vs. 97.6/100), 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 Mexican-dinner-mixes products

Taco dinner kit includes shells, sauce & seasoning mix, taco lists 33 ingredients on its label

33 92nd percentile a longer ingredient list than 92% of the 871 products we track

0–2: 1 products (0%). Below this entry. 2–4: 26 products (3%). Below this entry. 4–6: 54 products (6%). Below this entry. 6–8: 77 products (9%). Below this entry. 8–10: 67 products (8%). Below this entry. 10–12: 54 products (6%). Below this entry. 12–14: 46 products (5%). Below this entry. 14–16: 53 products (6%). Below this entry. 16–18: 45 products (5%). Below this entry. 18–20: 53 products (6%). Below this entry. 20–22: 50 products (6%). Below this entry. 22–24: 46 products (5%). Below this entry. 24–26: 49 products (6%). Below this entry. 26–28: 63 products (7%). Below this entry. 28–30: 49 products (6%). Below this entry. 30–32: 33 products (4%). Below this entry. 32–34: 43 products (5%). This entry sits in this band. 34–36: 14 products (2%). Above this entry. 36–38: 21 products (2%). Above this entry. 38–40: 6 products (1%). Above this entry. 40–42: 21 products (2%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Mexican-dinner-mixes 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

871 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 33 (92nd percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
1 products (0%)
2–4
26 products (3%)
4–6
54 products (6%)
6–8
77 products (9%)
8–10
67 products (8%)
10–12
54 products (6%)
12–14
46 products (5%)
14–16
53 products (6%)
16–18
45 products (5%)
18–20
53 products (6%)
20–22
50 products (6%)
22–24
46 products (5%)
24–26
49 products (6%)
26–28
63 products (7%)
28–30
49 products (6%)
30–32
33 products (4%)
32–34
43 products (5%)
34–36
14 products (2%)
36–38
21 products (2%)
38–40
6 products (1%)
40 and above
21 products (2%)

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 871 Mexican-dinner-mixes 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 33 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Yellow Corn Flour Masa
2
Vegetable Oils
3
Soybean
4
Canola
5
Cottonseed
6
Corn
7
Palm Oleinoil
8
Trace Of Lime
9
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
10
TBHQ
Preservative
Avoid Approved (preservative, 21 CFR 172.185)
11
Preservative
12
Water
13
Tomatoes
14
Tomato Paste
15
Distilled Vinegar
16
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
17
Jalapeno Peppers
18
Onion
19
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
20
Guar Gum And Sodium Alginate
21
Spices
22
Sodium Benzoate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FUMIGANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
23
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
24
Chili Pepper
25
Onion Powder
26
Modified Food Starch
27
Corn Flour
28
Oleoresin Of Paprika
29
Soybean Oil
30
Silicon Dioxide
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT
Safe GRAS
31
2% Anti-caking Agent
32
Spice
33
Disodium Guanulate With Inosinate And Garlic Powder

Full Ingredient List

Taco shells: yellow corn flour masa, vegetable oils (may contain one or more of the following; soybean, canola, cottonseed, corn, and/or palm oleinoil), trace of lime, citric acid, tbhq (preservative). taco salsa: water, tomatoes, tomato paste, distilled vinegar, salt, contains less than 2% of jalapeno peppers, dehydrated onion, xanthan gum, guar gum and sodium alginate, spices, sodium benzoate (preservative). taco seasoning: maltodextrin, salt, chili pepper, onion powder, modified food starch, corn flour, oleoresin of paprika, soybean oil, silicon dioxide (< 2% anti-caking agent), spice, disodium guanulate with inosinate and garlic powder.

Other products containing Guar Gum And Sodium Alginate

Guar Gum And Sodium Alginate is the least common ingredient on this label, appearing in 5 products across the catalog. See its safety profile.

Categories

Mexican-dinner-mixes

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

TBHQ is the first flagged ingredient selected from Taco dinner kit includes shells, sauce & seasoning mix, taco's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 33-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to TBHQ. Open TBHQ
  • Compare Taco dinner kit includes shells, sauce & seasoning mix, taco'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 0036800822856: 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.