Cheddar cheese & bacon flavor smoked sausage

by Johnsonville

85
Caution
Safety Score (out of 100)

Contains 1 flagged ingredient

Cheddar cheese & bacon flavor smoked sausage by Johnsonville receives a safety score of 85/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. The product contains 1 ingredient 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
0077782030617
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed
Serving Size
1 LINK (99 g)

What the Data Says About

Cheddar cheese & bacon flavor smoked sausage by Johnsonville carries a composite safety score of 85/100, which we classify as "Caution" 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 1 flagged ingredient 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, Cheddar cheese & bacon flavor smoked sausage 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 Cheddar cheese & bacon flavor smoked sausage
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 85/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 1 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
Pork
2
Water
3
Pasteurized Process Cheddar Cheese
4
Cheddar Cheese
5
Pasteurized Milk
6
Cheese Culture
7
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
8
Enzymes
9
Milkfat
10
Sodium Phosphate
11
Sorbic Acid
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
Safe GRAS
12
Apo-carotenal
13
Cellulose
Emulsifier
Safe
14
And Less Than 2% Of The Following: Salt
15
Potassium And Sodium Lactate
16
Corn Syrup
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, HUMECTANT, LEAVENING AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, TEXTURIZER
Cut Back GRAS
17
Bacon Flavor
18
Torula yeast
Flavoring
Safe
19
Hydrolyzed Soy Protein
20
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
21
Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor
22
Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
23
Corn Syrup Solids
24
Bacon
25
Cured With Water
26
Sodium Erythorbate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DOUGH STRENGTHENER, FLOUR TREATING AGENT, OXIDIZING OR REDUCING AGENT, PROCESSING AID, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT
Safe GRAS
27
Sodium Nitrite
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PROPELLANT
Avoid Prior Sanctioned
28
Thiamine Hydrochloride
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
29
Natural Flavor
30
Lecithin
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MASTICATORY SUBSTANCE, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Safe GRAS
31
Disodium Inosinate And Disodium Guanylate
32
Sodium Diacetate
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
Safe GRAS
33
Hog Casing

Full Ingredient List

Pork, water, pasteurized process cheddar cheese ([cheddar cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), water, milkfat, sodium phosphate, salt, sorbic acid, apo-carotenal], powdered cellulose), and less than 2% of the following: salt, potassium and sodium lactate, corn syrup, bacon flavor (torula yeast, hydrolyzed soy protein, maltodextrin, natural hickory smoke flavor, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, corn syrup solids, bacon (cured with water, salt, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite), thiamine hydrochloride, natural flavor, lecithin, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate), sodium diacetate, sodium erythorbate, natural flavor, sodium nitrite, natural hog casing.

Categories

Meats and their products Meats Prepared meats Sausages Smoked sausages

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