Red lentil Mac and cheese bites

by Good and gather

95
Safe
Safety Score (out of 100)

Contains 1 flagged ingredient

Red lentil Mac and cheese bites by Good and gather receives a safety score of 95/100 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
0085239182468
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed
Serving Size
99g

What the Data Says About

Red lentil Mac and cheese bites by Good and gather carries a composite safety score of 95/100, which we classify as "Safe" 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, Red lentil Mac and cheese bites 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 Red lentil Mac and cheese bites
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 95/100 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
Cooked Elbow Pasta
2
Water
3
Red Lentil Elbow
4
Cheddar Cheese
5
Cultured Pasteurized Milk
6
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
7
Enzymes
8
Annatto
Coloring
Certain People Should Avoid
9
Panko Bread Crumbs
10
Wheat Flour
11
Cane Sugar
12
Yeast
13
Sea salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
14
Milk
15
Vitamin D3
16
Tempura Flour
17
Bleached Wheat Flour
18
Rice Flour
19
Cornstarch
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
20
Leavening
21
Organic Low-moisture Part-skim Mozzarella Cheese
22
Pasteurized Part-skim Milk
23
Cheese Cultures
24
Cream
25
Modified Food Starch
26
Liquid Whole Eggs With Citric Acid
27
Whole Egg
28
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
29
Organic Cheddar Cheese Base
30
Cheddar Cheese Concentrate
31
Sodium Phosphate
32
Yeast Extract
33
Corn Oil
34
Sweet Cream
35
Butter
36
Pasteurized Cream
37
Enriched Wheat Flour
38
Malted Barley Flour
39
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
40
Reduced Iron
41
Thiamine Mononitrate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
42
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
43
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
44
Onion
45
Degermed Yellow Corn Meal
46
Tapioca Dextrin
47
Carrageenan
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
Caution GRAS
48
Spices
49
Egg
50
And Wheat

Full Ingredient List

Cooked elbow pasta (water, red lentil elbow), cheddar cheese (cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes, annatto), panko bread crumbs (wheat flour, cane sugar, yeast, sea salt), milk (milk, vitamin D3), tempura flour (bleached wheat flour, rice flour, cornstarch, leavening), low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese (pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), cream, modified food starch, liquid whole eggs with citric acid (whole egg, citric acid, water), cheddar cheese base (cheddar cheese concentrate, water, sodium phosphate, enzymes), salt, yeast extract, corn oil, sweet cream, butter (pasteurized cream, salt), enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sea salt, onion, degermed yellow corn meal, tapioca dextrin, carrageenan, spices. Contains egg, milk, and wheat.

Categories

Baby foods Evening meals for babies

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