Avoid

Better made, special popcorn, red hot cheese

by Better Made

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0041633002603 · Better Made · Snacks. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0041633002603 · Serving size 1.875 ONZ (53.1 g)

The verdict

Better made, special popcorn, red hot cheese by Better Made scores 25/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 42 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 3 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 42-component record, beginning with Popcorn, Vegetable Oil, Hydrogenated Cottonseed And Canola Oil. 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.

25/100
Avoid safety score
3
Few flagged · of 42 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

20/100

Grade F

Ingredient Safety

25/100

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.

33002603 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Better made, special popcorn, red hot cheese label screening desk

SCORE-AVOID 25/100 FLAG-FEW 3 flagged LEN-DENSE 42 ing. REG-SPARSE 26% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-SHORT Len top 9% LEAD-FLAG Yellow 6 PHOTO-FINISH Gourmet select, flavored · ±0 BOOK-OFF …002603 · July 2026

11 of 42 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Yellow 6). Source sheet 33002603 · 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: Gourmet select, flavored puffcorn, cheese · Nearest score peer is Gourmet select, flavored puffcorn, cheese at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

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

The composite for this product falls in the lowest of the four bands. That is where labels land when registry-rated components drive the greater part of the deduction from the index. The band name is drawn from the framework's own scale and is distinct from the ratings the registries themselves assign to individual substances, which are shown per component below. A single heavily rated component and several lightly rated ones can produce the same band, so the component table is the more precise reading of the two.

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.

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.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Better made, special popcorn, red hot cheese: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Better made, special popc…25/1002. Gourmet select, flavored puffcorn, cheese: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Gourmet select, flavored …25/1003. Delicious Air Popped Popcorn: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Delicious Air Popped Popc…25/1004. Gelatin mix: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Gelatin mix25/1005. South Of The Border Snack Mix: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. South Of The Border Snack…25/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Better made, special popcorn, red hot cheese (25/100 on 42 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

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

Better made, special popcorn, red hot cheese
25/100
Gourmet select, flavored puffcorn, cheese
25/100
Delicious Air Popped Popcorn
25/100
Gelatin mix
25/100
South Of The Border Snack Mix
25/100

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. Better made, special popcorn, red hot cheese scores 61.1 points below that category average (25/100 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

Better made, special popcorn, red hot cheese lists 42 ingredients on its label

42 91st percentile a longer ingredient list than 91% 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%). Below this entry. 26–28: 2,829 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 2,282 products (3%). Below this entry. 30–32: 1,905 products (2%). Below this entry. 32–34: 1,715 products (2%). Below this entry. 34–36: 1,572 products (2%). Below this entry. 36–38: 1,417 products (2%). Below this entry. 38–40: 1,284 products (2%). Below this entry. 40–42: 8,066 products (10%). This entry sits in this band. 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: 42 (91st 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 25/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (3 flagged of 42 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Popcorn
2
Vegetable Oil
3
Hydrogenated Cottonseed And Canola Oil
4
Seasoning
5
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
6
Corn Starch
7
Cheddar And Blue Cheese
8
Pasteurized Milk
9
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
10
Annato Extract
11
Cheese Culture
12
Enzymes
13
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
14
Butter
15
Cream
16
Water
17
Natural And Artificial Flavor
18
Buttermilk
19
Msg
20
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
21
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
22
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
23
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
24
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
25
Sodium Diacitate
26
Red #40 Lake
27
Spice Extractive
28
Onion
29
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
30
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
31
Natural Smoke Flavor
32
Canola Oil
33
Mfg Aid
34
Annatto Color
35
Annatto Extract And Soybean Oil
36
Oleoresin Paprika
37
Soybean Oil
38
Oleoresin Capsicum
39
Extract Of Chili Peppers
40
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
41
Calcium Phosphate
42
Disodium Phosphate

Full Ingredient List

Popcorn, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: cottonseed and canola oil), seasoning (whey, corn starch, cheddar and blue cheese (pasteurized milk, salt, annato extract, cheese culture, enzymes), maltodextrin, salt, butter (cream, water, salt) natural and artificial flavor, buttermilk, msg, yellow 5, yellow 6, yellow 5 lake*, sugar, dextrose, salt, sodium diacitate, red #40 lake, spice extractive, powdered onion, citric acid, powdered garlic, natural smoke flavor, canola oil (mfg aid), annatto color (annatto extract and soybean oil), oleoresin paprika (with refined soybean oil), oleoresin capsicum (extract of chili peppers), silicon dioxide, calcium phosphate, disodium phosphate).

Categories

Snacks

Lower-score cross-brand comparables for Better made, special popcorn, red hot cheese

Neighbours outside Better Made in the same lower screening band as Better made, special popcorn, red hot cheese (25/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Better Made; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Yellow 6 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Better made, special popcorn, red hot cheese's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 42-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Yellow 6. Open Yellow 6
  • Compare Better made, special popcorn, red hot cheese's 3 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 0041633002603: 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.