Buffalo Blue Cheese (flavored cheese curls)

by Herr's

50
Concern
Safety Score (out of 100)

Contains 2 flagged ingredients

Buffalo Blue Cheese (flavored cheese curls) by Herr's receives a safety score of 50/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. The product contains 2 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
0072600065437
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed

What the Data Says About

Buffalo Blue Cheese (flavored cheese curls) by Herr's carries a composite safety score of 50/100, which we classify as "Concern" 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 2 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, Buffalo Blue Cheese (flavored cheese curls) 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.

Safety Profile at a Glance

Composite safety metrics for Buffalo Blue Cheese (flavored cheese curls)
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 50/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 2 CSPI/FDA review
NOVA processing group Group 4 OpenFoodFacts
Nutri-Score Not available OpenFoodFacts

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

Ingredient Safety Analysis

1
Corn Meal
2
Vegetable Oil
3
The Following: Corn
4
Cottonseed
5
Palm
6
Organic Sunflower
7
Cheese Blend
8
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
9
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
10
Sunflower Oil
11
Cheddar Cheese
12
Pasteurized Milk
13
Cheese Culture
14
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
15
Enzymes
16
Msg
17
Sodium Phosphate
18
Butter
19
Cream
20
Natural Flavor
21
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
22
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
23
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
24
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
25
Seasoning
26
Rice Flour
27
Cayenne Pepper Sauce
28
Aged Cayenne Red Peppers
29
Vinegar
30
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
31
Coconut Oil
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Listed
32
Modified Food Starch
33
Onion Powder
34
Garlic Powder
35
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
36
Natural And Artificial Flavors
37
Spice
38
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
39
Autolyzed yeast extract
Flavoring
Certain People Should Avoid
40
Malic Acid
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SYNERGIST
Safe GRAS
41
Disodium Inosinate And Disodium Guanylate

Full Ingredient List

CORN MEAL, VEGETABLE OIL (CONTAINS ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING: CORN, COTTONSEED, PALM, SUNFLOWER), CHEESE BLEND (MALTODEXTRIN, WHEY, SUNFLOWER OIL, CHEDDAR CHEESE [PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES], SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, BUTTER [CREAM, SALT], NATURAL FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID, LACTIC ACID, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6, ENZYMES), SEASONING (WHEY, MALTODEXTRIN, RICE FLOUR, DRIED CAYENNE PEPPER SAUCE [AGED CAYENNE RED PEPPERS, VINEGAR, SALT, GARLIC], MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, COCONUT OIL, SALT, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, ONION POWDER, GARLIC POWDER, SUGAR, LACTIC ACID, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SPICE, VINEGAR, SODIUM CASEINATE, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, MALIC ACID, DISODIUM INOSINATE AND DISODIUM GUANYLATE), SALT.

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