Concern

Quickn' cheesy macaroni & cheese cup

by Harris Teeter

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0072036983053 · Harris Teeter · Meals. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0072036983053 · Serving size 1 cup (58 g)

The verdict

Quickn' cheesy macaroni & cheese cup by Harris Teeter scores 50/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 38 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 2 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 38-component record, beginning with Organic Elbow Pasta, Semolina, Wheat. 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.

50/100
Concern safety score
2
Few flagged · of 38 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

33/100

Grade F

Ingredient Safety

50/100

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.

36983053 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Quickn' cheesy macaroni & cheese cup label screening desk

SCORE-CONC 50/100 FLAG-FEW 2 flagged LEN-DENSE 38 ing. REG-PART 39% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-MID Len top 32% LEAD-FLAG Yellow 6 PHOTO-FINISH Sorbet · ±0 BOOK-OFF …983053 · July 2026

15 of 38 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Yellow 6). Source sheet 36983053 · 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: Sorbet · Nearest score peer is Sorbet at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

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

This label lands in the third of four positions on the published scale. What separates that position from its neighbours is arithmetic rather than judgement: identical inputs run through the documented weighting always arrive at the same place. Anyone who works the calculation through by hand, using the methodology write-up together with the itemised ratings further down, will reproduce this number exactly — which is the reason for publishing a computed figure instead of an opinion.

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. Quickn' cheesy macaroni & cheese cup: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Quickn' cheesy macaroni &…50/1002. Sorbet: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Sorbet50/1003. Dark Chocolate Topped Truffle Cookies: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Dark Chocolate Topped Tru…50/1004. Nino envuelto strawberry jelly roll: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Nino envuelto strawberry …50/1005. Drink Mix: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Drink Mix50/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Quickn' cheesy macaroni & cheese cup (50/100 on 38 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

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

Quickn' cheesy macaroni & cheese cup
50/100
Sorbet
50/100
Dark Chocolate Topped Truffle Cookies
50/100
Nino envuelto strawberry jelly roll
50/100
Drink Mix
50/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 15,626 products we've scored in the Meals category, the average safety score is 93.6/100. Quickn' cheesy macaroni & cheese cup scores 43.6 points below that category average (50/100 vs. 93.6/100), 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 Meals products

Quickn' cheesy macaroni & cheese cup lists 38 ingredients on its label

38 68th percentile a longer ingredient list than 68% of the 11,283 products we track

0–2: 12 products (0%). Below this entry. 2–4: 83 products (1%). Below this entry. 4–6: 127 products (1%). Below this entry. 6–8: 209 products (2%). Below this entry. 8–10: 312 products (3%). Below this entry. 10–12: 315 products (3%). Below this entry. 12–14: 412 products (4%). Below this entry. 14–16: 477 products (4%). Below this entry. 16–18: 542 products (5%). Below this entry. 18–20: 552 products (5%). Below this entry. 20–22: 545 products (5%). Below this entry. 22–24: 550 products (5%). Below this entry. 24–26: 552 products (5%). Below this entry. 26–28: 552 products (5%). Below this entry. 28–30: 574 products (5%). Below this entry. 30–32: 517 products (5%). Below this entry. 32–34: 466 products (4%). Below this entry. 34–36: 451 products (4%). Below this entry. 36–38: 443 products (4%). Below this entry. 38–40: 388 products (3%). This entry sits in this band. 40–42: 3,204 products (28%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Meals 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

11,283 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 38 (68th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
12 products (0%)
2–4
83 products (1%)
4–6
127 products (1%)
6–8
209 products (2%)
8–10
312 products (3%)
10–12
315 products (3%)
12–14
412 products (4%)
14–16
477 products (4%)
16–18
542 products (5%)
18–20
552 products (5%)
20–22
545 products (5%)
22–24
550 products (5%)
24–26
552 products (5%)
26–28
552 products (5%)
28–30
574 products (5%)
30–32
517 products (5%)
32–34
466 products (4%)
34–36
451 products (4%)
36–38
443 products (4%)
38–40
388 products (3%)
40 and above
3,204 products (28%)

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 11,283 Meals 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 50/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (2 flagged of 38 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Organic Elbow Pasta
2
Semolina
3
Wheat
4
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
5
Ferrous Sulfate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
6
Iron
7
Thiamine Mononitrate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
8
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
9
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
10
Powder Cheese Sauce Mix
11
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
12
High Acid Buttermilk Solids
13
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
14
Cream
15
Natural Flavors
16
Cheddar Cheese
17
Pasteurized Milk
18
Cheese Culture
19
Salt Enzymes
20
Potassium Chloride
ENZYME, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
21
Buttermilk Solids
22
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
23
Nonfat Dry Milk
24
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
25
Autolyzed Yeast Extract Titanium Dioxide
26
Color
27
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
28
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
29
Yellow 5 And Yellow 6
30
Sodium Phosphate
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
Onion Powder
33
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
34
Soybean Oil
35
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
36
White Mineral Oil
37
Polydimethylsiloxane
38
And Food Grade Emulsifiers

Full Ingredient List

Elbow pasta (semolina [wheat], niacin, ferrous sulfate [iron], thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), powder cheese sauce mix (whey, high acid buttermilk solids, salt, cream, natural flavors, cheddar cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt enzymes], potassium chloride, buttermilk solids, lactic acid, nonfat dry milk, xanthan gum, autolyzed yeast extract titanium dioxide, color [yellow 5 lake, yellow 6 lake, yellow 5 and yellow 6], sodium phosphate, citric acid, onion powder), maltodextrin, soybean oil, silicon dioxide, white mineral oil, polydimethylsiloxane, and food grade emulsifiers.

Categories

Meals Pasta dishes

Mid-score cross-brand comparables for Quickn' cheesy macaroni & cheese cup

Neighbours outside Harris Teeter near Quickn' cheesy macaroni & cheese cup's mid-band score (50/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Harris Teeter; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Yellow 6 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Quickn' cheesy macaroni & cheese cup's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 38-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Yellow 6. Open Yellow 6
  • Compare Quickn' cheesy macaroni & cheese cup's 2 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 0072036983053: 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.