Safe

American cheese with sauteed onions on deli rye bread

by Steak 'N Shake

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0071421100020 · Steak 'N Shake · Frozen foods. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0071421100020 · Serving size 1 SANDWICH (182 g)

The verdict

American cheese with sauteed onions on deli rye bread by Steak 'N Shake scores 95/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 53 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 53-component record, beginning with Beef, Encapsulated Salt, Sodium Phosphates. 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.

95/100
Safe safety score
1
One flagged · of 53 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
D
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

95/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

D

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.

21100020 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

American cheese with sauteed onions on deli rye bread label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 95/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 53 ing. REG-SPARSE 28% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-D Nutri-D RANK-SHORT Len top 18% LEAD-FLAG Phosphoric Acid PHOTO-FINISH Pretzel Flatbread Sandwiches · ±0 BOOK-OFF …100020 · July 2026

15 of 53 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Phosphoric Acid). Source sheet 21100020 · 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: Pretzel Flatbread Sandwiches · Nearest score peer is Pretzel Flatbread Sandwiches at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

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

Within the four-tier shelf-label framework this site publishes, the composite for this product falls in the highest band. That band is defined by a threshold on the derived score alone: it is where labels land once components carrying caution-or-worse registry ratings contribute little or nothing to the deduction. The band is a summary of what the screened registries return for the components that were parsed, so it inherits their coverage gaps — a component absent from both registries neither raises nor lowers the figure. The threshold and the weighting behind it are set out on the methodology page.

This label falls in the fourth Nutri-Score band. The model arrives there when its penalty terms — energy density, sugars, saturated fat, sodium — carry more weight in the calculation than the fibre, protein and produce content it credits. The band covers a wide span of the points scale, so position within it is not visible from the letter alone. The grade reflects the declared nutrition panel and is unrelated to the additive ratings listed below, which come from different bodies applying different criteria.

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. American cheese with sauteed onions on deli rye bread: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. American cheese with saut…95/1002. Pretzel Flatbread Sandwiches: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Pretzel Flatbread Sandwic…95/1003. Cheese-Burger: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Cheese-Burger95/1004. Cheeseburger: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Cheeseburger95/1005. Black forest, organic, organic hard candies, caramel: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Black forest, organic, or…95/100
High-band neighbours for American cheese with sauteed onions on deli rye bread (95/100) outside Steak 'N Shake.
Chart values as text

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

American cheese with sauteed onions on deli rye bread
95/100
Pretzel Flatbread Sandwiches
95/100
Cheese-Burger
95/100
Cheeseburger
95/100
Black forest, organic, organic hard candies, caramel
95/100

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. American cheese with sauteed onions on deli rye bread scores 2.1 points above that category average (95/100 vs. 92.9/100), so it is roughly typical for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient-list length vs other Frozen foods products

American cheese with sauteed onions on deli rye bread lists 53 ingredients on its label

53 82nd percentile a longer ingredient list than 82% 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: 53 (82nd 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 95/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (1 flagged of 53 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Beef
2
Encapsulated Salt
3
Sodium Phosphates
4
Natural Beef Flavor
5
Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
6
Beef Fat
7
Natural Flavor
8
Seasoning
9
Spices
10
Garlic Powder
11
Onion
12
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
13
Paprika
14
Turmeric
15
Extractive Of Paprika
16
Wheat Flour
17
Water
18
Rye Flour
19
Caraway Seeds
20
Yeast
21
Soybean Oil
22
Wheat Gluten
FIRMING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
23
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
24
High-fructose corn syrup
Sweetener
Cut Back
25
Dough Conditioners
26
Mono & Diglycerides
27
Datem
Emulsifier
Safe
28
Ascorbic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DOUGH STRENGTHENER, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SEQUESTRANT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
29
Calcium Peroxide
DOUGH STRENGTHENER, FLOUR TREATING AGENT, OXIDIZING OR REDUCING AGENT, SEQUESTRANT
GRAS
30
Calcium Propionate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT
Safe GRAS
31
Preservative
32
Calcium Sulfate
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FORMULATION AID, LEAVENING AGENT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
33
Monocalcium Phosphate
34
Dried Vinegar
35
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
36
Phosphoric Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FUMIGANT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, PH CONTROL AGENT, SEQUESTRANT
Cut Back GRAS
37
Acetic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT
Safe GRAS
38
Hydrogenated Soybean Oil With Salt
39
Soy Lecithin
40
Natural And Artificial Flavor
41
Tbhq And Citric Acid Added As Preservatives
42
Artificial Color
43
Cultured Milk And Skim Milk
44
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
45
Sodium Citrate
46
Modified Food Starch
47
Sodium Phosphate
48
Sorbic Acid
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
Safe GRAS
49
Enzymes
50
Non Sticking Agent
51
Organic Onions
52
Or Less Of Canola Oil
53
Caramel Coloring
Coloring
Avoid Approved (color additive, GRAS)

Full Ingredient List

Fully cooked chopped beef steaks: beef, encapsulated salt, sodium phosphates, beef flavor (partially hydrogenated soybean oil, beef fat, natural flavor), seasoning (spices, garlic powder, dehydrated onion, sugar, paprika, turmeric, extractive of paprika, natural flavor). deli rye bread: wheat flour, water, rye flour, caraway seeds, yeast, contains 2% or less of: soybean oil, wheat gluten, salt, high fructose corn syrup, dough conditioners (mono & diglycerides, datem, ascorbic acid, calcium peroxide), calcium propionate (preservative), calcium sulfate, monocalcium phosphate, vinegar, lactic acid, phosphoric acid, acetic acid, soy lecithin. buttered with butter flavored oil: soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with salt, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavor, tbhq and citric acid added as preservatives, artificial color, dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent. process american yellow cheese product: cultured milk and skim milk, whey, salt, sodium citrate, modified food starch, artificial color, sodium phosphate, sorbic acid (preservative), lactic acid, enzymes, soy lecithin (non sticking agent). onions: onions, contains 2% or less of canola oil, caramel color.

Categories

Frozen foods

High-score cross-brand comparables for American cheese with sauteed onions on deli rye bread

Neighbours outside Steak 'N Shake with screening scores in the same high band as American cheese with sauteed onions on deli rye bread (95/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Steak 'N Shake; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Phosphoric Acid is the first flagged ingredient selected from American cheese with sauteed onions on deli rye bread's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 53-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Phosphoric Acid. Open Phosphoric Acid
  • Compare American cheese with sauteed onions on deli rye bread'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 0071421100020: 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.