Avoid

Cheese sauce mix

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0050000382620 · Condiments. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0050000382620 · Serving size 4 Tbsp (12 g)

The verdict

Cheese sauce mix scores 35/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 35 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 35-component record, beginning with Maltodextrin, Tapioca Starch, Whey. 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.

35/100
Avoid safety score
3
Few flagged · of 35 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

25/100

Grade F

Ingredient Safety

35/100

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.

00382620 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Cheese sauce mix label screening desk

SCORE-AVOID 35/100 FLAG-FEW 3 flagged LEN-DENSE 35 ing. REG-PART 43% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-SHORT Len top 3% LEAD-FLAG BHT PHOTO-SOLO No peers BOOK-OFF …382620 · July 2026

15 of 35 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: BHT). Source sheet 00382620 · 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 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.

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 31,268 products we've scored in the Condiments category, the average safety score is 98.3/100. Cheese sauce mix scores 63.3 points below that category average (35/100 vs. 98.3/100), 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 Condiments products

Cheese sauce mix lists 35 ingredients on its label

35 97th percentile a longer ingredient list than 97% of the 27,084 products we track

0–2: 186 products (1%). Below this entry. 2–4: 1,031 products (4%). Below this entry. 4–6: 1,392 products (5%). Below this entry. 6–8: 2,093 products (8%). Below this entry. 8–10: 2,811 products (10%). Below this entry. 10–12: 3,070 products (11%). Below this entry. 12–14: 2,818 products (10%). Below this entry. 14–16: 2,724 products (10%). Below this entry. 16–18: 2,451 products (9%). Below this entry. 18–20: 2,045 products (8%). Below this entry. 20–22: 1,563 products (6%). Below this entry. 22–24: 1,244 products (5%). Below this entry. 24–26: 934 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 694 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 551 products (2%). Below this entry. 30–32: 420 products (2%). Below this entry. 32–34: 246 products (1%). Below this entry. 34–36: 196 products (1%). This entry sits in this band. 36–38: 135 products (0%). Above this entry. 38–40: 134 products (0%). Above this entry. 40–42: 346 products (1%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Condiments 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

27,084 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 35 (97th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
186 products (1%)
2–4
1,031 products (4%)
4–6
1,392 products (5%)
6–8
2,093 products (8%)
8–10
2,811 products (10%)
10–12
3,070 products (11%)
12–14
2,818 products (10%)
14–16
2,724 products (10%)
16–18
2,451 products (9%)
18–20
2,045 products (8%)
20–22
1,563 products (6%)
22–24
1,244 products (5%)
24–26
934 products (3%)
26–28
694 products (3%)
28–30
551 products (2%)
30–32
420 products (2%)
32–34
246 products (1%)
34–36
196 products (1%)
36–38
135 products (0%)
38–40
134 products (0%)
40 and above
346 products (1%)

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 27,084 Condiments 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 35/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (3 flagged of 35 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
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
2
Tapioca Starch
NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
3
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
4
Soybean Oil
 5
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
6
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
7
Canola Oil
 8
Cheddar Cheese Flavor Blend
 9
Cheddar Cheese
 10
Pasteurized Milk
 11
Cheese Cultures
 12
Enzymes
 13
Disodium Phosphate
 14
Natural Flavors
 15
Sodium Citrate
 16
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
17
Tocopherols
ANTIOXIDANT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
18
2% Or Less Of Yeast Extract
19
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
20
Corn Syrup Solids
 21
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
22
Dipotassium Phosphate
EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SEQUESTRANT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
23
Sodium Caseinate
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
24
Milk Derivative
 25
Calcium Caseinate
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FORMULATION AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
Approved
26
Color Added
 27
BHT
Caution GRAS
28
Buttermilk Powder
 29
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
30
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
31
Spice
 32
Natural Flavors
 33
Disodium Inosinate/disodium Guanylate
 34
Sodium Silicoaluminate
 35
Extractives Of Paprika

Full Ingredient List

Maltodextrin, tapioca starch, whey, soybean oil, salt, dextrose, canola oil, cheddar cheese flavor blend (cheddar cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes], maltodextrin, disodium phosphate, flavors, sodium citrate, xanthan gum, tocopherols), 2% or less of yeast extract, modified cornstarch, corn syrup solids, sugar, dipotassium phosphate, sodium caseinate (a milk derivative), calcium caseinate, color added , xanthan gum, bht, buttermilk powder, yellow 5, yellow 6, spice, natural flavors, disodium inosinate/disodium guanylate, sodium silicoaluminate, extractives of paprika.

Categories

Condiments Groceries

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

BHT is the first flagged ingredient selected from Cheese sauce mix's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 35-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to BHT. Open BHT
  • Compare Cheese sauce mix'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 0050000382620: 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.