Safe

Three Cheese

by Hamburger Helper

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0652729710373 · Hamburger Helper · Meals. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0652729710373 · Serving size 1 portion (34 g)

The verdict

Three Cheese by Hamburger Helper scores 100/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 41 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 0 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 41-component record, beginning with Enriched Macaroni, Wheat Flour, Niacin. 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.

100/100
Safe safety score
0
None flagged · of 41 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

58/100

Grade C

Ingredient Safety

100/100

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.

29710373 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Three Cheese label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 100/100 FLAG-CLEAN 0 flagged LEN-DENSE 41 ing. REG-PART 37% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-MID Len top 27% LEAD-RARE Calcium Lactate PHOTO-FINISH Pasta salad · ±0 BOOK-OFF …710373 · July 2026

15 of 41 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Calcium Lactate). Source sheet 29710373 · 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: Pasta salad · Nearest score peer is Pasta salad at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

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

Within the four-tier shelf-label framework this site publishes, the composite for this product falls in the highest band. That band is defined by a threshold on the derived score alone: it is where labels land once components carrying caution-or-worse registry ratings contribute little or nothing to the deduction. The band is a summary of what the screened registries return for the components that were parsed, so it inherits their coverage gaps — a component absent from both registries neither raises nor lowers the figure. The threshold and the weighting behind it are set out on the methodology page.

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. Three Cheese: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Three Cheese100/1002. Pasta salad: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Pasta salad100/1003. Tuna helper: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Tuna helper100/1004. Tuna Creamy Broccoli: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Tuna Creamy Broccoli100/1005. Suddenly! Pasta Salad classic: 100/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Suddenly! Pasta Salad cla…100/100
High-band neighbours for Three Cheese (100/100) outside Hamburger Helper.
Chart values as text

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

Three Cheese
100/100
Pasta salad
100/100
Tuna helper
100/100
Tuna Creamy Broccoli
100/100
Suddenly! Pasta Salad classic
100/100

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. Three Cheese scores 6.4 points above that category average (100/100 vs. 93.6/100), so it is a comparatively strong pick for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient-list length vs other Meals products

Three Cheese lists 41 ingredients on its label

41 73rd percentile a longer ingredient list than 73% 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%). Below this entry. 40–42: 3,204 products (28%). This entry sits in this band. 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: 41 (73rd 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

1
Enriched Macaroni
2
Wheat Flour
3
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
4
Ferrous Sulfate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
5
Thiamine Mononitrate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
6
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
7
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
8
Dairy Solids
9
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
10
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
11
Cheeses
12
Cheddar
13
Blue & Parmesan Cheese
14
Milk
15
Cultures
16
Enzymes
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
Buttermilk
19
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
20
Natural Flavors
21
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
22
Nonfat Milk
23
Color
24
Annatto & Turmeric Extract
25
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
26
Calcium Lactate
DOUGH STRENGTHENER, FIRMING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
27
Vegetable Oil
28
Canola
29
Soybean
30
Organic Sunflower
31
Palm Oil
32
Lactose
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, OXIDIZING OR REDUCING AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
33
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
34
Potassium Phosphate
35
Yeast Extract
36
Sodium Phosphate
37
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
38
Monoglycerides
39
Spices. Dehydrated
40
Wheat. May Also Contain Egg
41
Soy

Full Ingredient List

Enriched Macaroni (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Dairy Solids, Cornstarch, Wheat Flour, Salt, Contains 2% or Less of: Cheeses* (Cheddar, Blue & Parmesan Cheese [Milk, Salt, Cultures, & Enzymes]), Whey, Buttermilk*, Coconut Oil, Natural Flavors, Maltodextrin, Nonfat Milk*, Color (Annatto & Turmeric Extract), Lactic Acid, Calcium Lactate, Vegetable Oil (Canola, Soybean and/or Sunflower), Palm Oil* (Palm Oil, Lactose, Sodium Caseinate, Potassium Phosphate), Yeast Extract, Sodium Phosphate, Dextrose, Monoglycerides, Spices. *Dried CONTAINS MILK, WHEAT. MAY ALSO CONTAIN EGG, SOY.

Other products containing Wheat. May Also Contain Egg

Wheat. May Also Contain Egg is the least common ingredient on this label, appearing in 3 products across the catalog. See its safety profile.

Categories

Meals Pasta dishes Instant pasta Instant pasta with cheese

High-score cross-brand comparables for Three Cheese

Neighbours outside Hamburger Helper with screening scores in the same high band as Three Cheese (100/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Hamburger Helper; these peers cross brands.

Read the longer label in layers

Read the longer label in layers

Three Cheese has a longer ingredient list than 73% of its Meals category comparison set. Use the ingredient table before relying on its single screening score.

This page describes published ingredient-list and source coverage. It is not dietary or medical advice.

Barcode 0652729710373: 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.