Caution

Au gratin potatoes with real cheddar cheese, au gratin

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0072004020155 · Frozen foods. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0072004020155 · Serving size 3/4 cup (170 g)

The verdict

Au gratin potatoes with real cheddar cheese, au gratin scores 75/100 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 Potatoes, Dextrose, Potassium Sorbate. 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.

75/100
Caution safety score
1
One flagged · of 53 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
C
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

55/100

Grade C

Ingredient Safety

75/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

C

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.

04020155 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Au gratin potatoes with real cheddar cheese, au gratin label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 75/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 53 ing. REG-SPARSE 26% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-C Nutri-C RANK-SHORT Len top 18% LEAD-FLAG Yellow 6 PHOTO-SOLO No peers BOOK-OFF …020155 · July 2026

14 of 53 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Yellow 6). Source sheet 04020155 · 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 settled on its middle grade here, the band the algorithm produces when the penalty and credit sides of its nutrient ledger come out close to balanced. A mid-scale grade is a statement about the panel as a whole rather than about any single nutrient, and products arrive at it by very different routes: a moderate profile across every term, or high marks on some offset by heavy penalties on others. The grade is computed separately from the ingredient screen below and the two are not comparable measures.

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.

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. Au gratin potatoes with real cheddar cheese, au gratin scores 17.9 points below that category average (75/100 vs. 92.9/100), 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 Frozen foods products

Au gratin potatoes with real cheddar cheese, au gratin 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 75/100 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
Potatoes
2
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
3
Potassium Sorbate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT
Safe GRAS
4
Disodium Pyrophosphate
5
Cheese Sauce
6
Water
7
Canola Oil
8
Cheddar Cheese
9
Pasteurized Milk
10
Cheese Culture
11
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
12
Enzymes
13
Annatto
Coloring
Certain People Should Avoid
14
Color
15
Corn Starch
16
Corn Starch
17
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
18
Nonfat Dry Milk
19
Rice Flour
20
Sodium Hexametaphosphate
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
21
Yeast Extract
22
Mono-and Diglycerides
23
Blue Cheese
24
Milk
25
Cultures
26
Cream
27
Acetic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT
Safe GRAS
28
Sodium Phosphate
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
Turmeric Color
31
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
32
Annatto Extract
33
Natural Flavors
34
Cheese Cultures
35
Vegetable Color
36
Cellulose
Emulsifier
Safe
37
Potassium Sorbate And Natamycin
38
Presevatives
39
Parmesan Cheese
40
Imported Parmesan Cheese
41
Pasteurized Part-skim Cow's Milk
42
Hard Grating Cheese
43
Modified Food Starch
44
Palm Oil
45
Cellulose
Emulsifier
Safe
46
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
47
Sodium Citrate
48
Sorbic Acid
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
Safe GRAS
49
Artifical Color
50
Powder Cellulose Added To Prevent Caking
51
Natamycin
FUMIGANT
Safe Approved
52
Natural Mold Inhibitor
53
Paprika

Full Ingredient List

Potatoes (potatoes, dextrose, potassium sorbate [to protect flavor], disodium pyrophosphate [to maintain color]), cheese sauce (water, canola oil, cheddar cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto [color]), modified corn starch, corn starch, whey, contains less than 2% of nonfat dry milk, rice flour, salt, sodium hexametaphosphate, yeast extract, mono-and diglycerides, blue cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), cream, acetic acid, sodium phosphate, citric acid, turmeric color, yellow 6, annatto extract (color), natural flavors, enzymes), water, cheddar cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes, annatto [vegetable color], powdered cellulose [to prevent caking], potassium sorbate and natamycin [presevatives]), parmesan cheese (imported parmesan cheese [pasteurized part-skim cow's milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes], hard grating cheese [food starch, water, palm oil, cellulose, salt, lactic acid, whey, sodium phosphate, sodium citrate, lactic acid, sorbic acid, potassium sorbate, artifical color], powder cellulose added to prevent caking, natamycin [a natural mold inhibitor]), paprika.

Categories

Frozen foods

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Yellow 6 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Au gratin potatoes with real cheddar cheese, au gratin'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 Yellow 6. Open Yellow 6
  • Compare Au gratin potatoes with real cheddar cheese, au gratin'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 0072004020155: 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.