Better made, flavored popcorn, red hot cheese

by Better Made, Better Made Snack Foods Inc.

25
Avoid
Safety Score (out of 100)

Contains 3 flagged ingredients

Better made, flavored popcorn, red hot cheese by Better Made, Better Made Snack Foods Inc. receives a safety score of 25/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. The product contains 3 ingredients that have been flagged for potential safety concerns by regulatory or consumer advocacy databases. Product label data is sourced from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative database. See the full ingredient breakdown and safety assessment below.

Barcode
0041633002771
Nutri-Score
e
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed
Serving Size
1 ONZ (28 g)

What the Data Says About

Better made, flavored popcorn, red hot cheese by Better Made, Better Made Snack Foods Inc. carries a composite safety score of 25/100, which we classify as "Avoid" 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 identified 3 flagged ingredients in this product — components that at least one official source has classified as requiring caution, targeted avoidance, or further evaluation. Flagged ingredients are the items most likely to surface in FDA inspection findings, state-level ingredient bans, or outbreak-related recall notices, so the per-ingredient breakdown below is the most useful lens for anyone screening this product for a specific dietary concern.

On the NOVA processing scale, Better made, flavored popcorn, red hot cheese 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. The Nutri-Score grade of E reflects nutritional balance — calories, saturated fat, sugar, sodium versus fiber, protein, and produce content — which again is a distinct dimension from additive safety and worth weighing alongside the scores above.

Safety Profile at a Glance

Composite safety metrics for Better made, flavored popcorn, red hot cheese
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 25/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 3 CSPI/FDA review
NOVA processing group Group 4 OpenFoodFacts
Nutri-Score E OpenFoodFacts

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

Ingredient Safety Analysis

1
Popcorn
2
Vegetable Oil
3
The Following: Cottonseed
4
Sunflower And Canola Oil
5
. Seasoning
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
Deproteinized Whey
8
Corn Starch
9
Cheddar And Blue Cheese
10
Pasteurized Milk
11
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
12
Annatto Extract
13
Cheese Culture
14
Enzymes
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
Butter
17
Cream
18
Water
19
Natural & Artificial Flavor
20
Buttermilk
21
Msg
22
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
23
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
24
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
25
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
26
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
27
Sodium Diacetate
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
Safe GRAS
28
Red #40 Lake
29
Spice Extractive
30
Onion
31
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
32
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
33
Natural Smoke Flavor
34
Canola Oil
35
Mfg. Aid
36
Annatto Color
37
Annatto Extract And Soybean Oil
38
Oleoresin Paprika
39
With Refined Soybean Oil
40
And Oleoresin Capsicum
41
Extract Of Chili Peppers
42
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
43
Calcium Phosphate
44
Disodium Phosphate

Full Ingredient List

Popcorn, vegetable oil, (contains one or more of the following: cottonseed, sunflower and canola oil). seasoning (whey and/or deproteinized whey, corn starch, cheddar and blue cheese (pasteurized milk, salt, annatto extract, cheese culture, enzymes), maltodextrin, salt, butter, (cream, water, salt) natural & artificial flavor, buttermilk, monosodium glutamate, yellow 5, yellow 6, yellow 5 lake, sugar, dextrose, salt, sodium diacetate, 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), and oleoresin capsicum (extract of chili peppers), silicon dioxide, calcium phosphate, disodium phosphate.

Categories

Snacks

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