Avoid

Cheeseburger Macaroni

by Hamburger Helper

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0652729711288 · Hamburger Helper · Cooking helpers. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0652729711288 · Serving size 57g

The verdict

Cheeseburger Macaroni by Hamburger Helper scores 45/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 49 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 3 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 49-component record, beginning with Enriched Pasta, 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.

45/100
Avoid safety score
3
Few flagged · of 49 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

30/100

Grade F

Ingredient Safety

45/100

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.

29711288 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Cheeseburger Macaroni label screening desk

SCORE-AVOID 45/100 FLAG-FEW 3 flagged LEN-DENSE 49 ing. REG-PART 31% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-E Nutri-E RANK-SHORT Len top 4% LEAD-FLAG Yellow 6 PHOTO-FINISH Yogurth · ±0 BOOK-OFF …711288 · July 2026

15 of 49 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Yellow 6). Source sheet 29711288 · 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: Yogurth · Nearest score peer is Yogurth at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

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

The composite for this product falls in the lowest of the four bands. That is where labels land when registry-rated components drive the greater part of the deduction from the index. The band name is drawn from the framework's own scale and is distinct from the ratings the registries themselves assign to individual substances, which are shown per component below. A single heavily rated component and several lightly rated ones can produce the same band, so the component table is the more precise reading of the two.

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. Cheeseburger Macaroni: 45/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Cheeseburger Macaroni45/1002. Yogurth: 45/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Yogurth45/1003. Black Cherry Soda: 45/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Black Cherry Soda45/1004. Takis mini snack bites: 45/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Takis mini snack bites45/1005. Chocolates A La Carte, Solid Milk Chocolate Heart With Arrow: 45/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Chocolates A La Carte, So…45/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Cheeseburger Macaroni (45/100 on 49 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

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

Cheeseburger Macaroni
45/100
Yogurth
45/100
Black Cherry Soda
45/100
Takis mini snack bites
45/100
Chocolates A La Carte, Solid Milk Chocolate Heart With Arrow
45/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 4,660 products we've scored in the Cooking helpers category, the average safety score is 90.9/100. Cheeseburger Macaroni scores 45.9 points below that category average (45/100 vs. 90.9/100), 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 Cooking helpers products

Cheeseburger Macaroni lists 49 ingredients on its label

49 96th percentile a longer ingredient list than 96% of the 1,898 products we track

0–2: 36 products (2%). Below this entry. 2–4: 95 products (5%). Below this entry. 4–6: 146 products (8%). Below this entry. 6–8: 252 products (13%). Below this entry. 8–10: 178 products (9%). Below this entry. 10–12: 121 products (6%). Below this entry. 12–14: 148 products (8%). Below this entry. 14–16: 124 products (7%). Below this entry. 16–18: 111 products (6%). Below this entry. 18–20: 107 products (6%). Below this entry. 20–22: 84 products (4%). Below this entry. 22–24: 74 products (4%). Below this entry. 24–26: 58 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 47 products (2%). Below this entry. 28–30: 51 products (3%). Below this entry. 30–32: 42 products (2%). Below this entry. 32–34: 30 products (2%). Below this entry. 34–36: 27 products (1%). Below this entry. 36–38: 19 products (1%). Below this entry. 38–40: 13 products (1%). Below this entry. 40–42: 135 products (7%). This entry sits in this band. This product 0 42 every published Cooking helpers 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

1,898 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 49 (96th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
36 products (2%)
2–4
95 products (5%)
4–6
146 products (8%)
6–8
252 products (13%)
8–10
178 products (9%)
10–12
121 products (6%)
12–14
148 products (8%)
14–16
124 products (7%)
16–18
111 products (6%)
18–20
107 products (6%)
20–22
84 products (4%)
22–24
74 products (4%)
24–26
58 products (3%)
26–28
47 products (2%)
28–30
51 products (3%)
30–32
42 products (2%)
32–34
30 products (2%)
34–36
27 products (1%)
36–38
19 products (1%)
38–40
13 products (1%)
40 and above
135 products (7%)

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 1,898 Cooking helpers 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 45/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (3 flagged of 49 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Enriched Pasta
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
Freeze-dried Cooked Beef Topping
9
Beef
10
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
11
Spices
12
Hydrolyzed Corn Protein
13
Flavorings
14
Grill Flavor
15
Tapioca Dextrin
16
Modified Food Starch
17
Corn Syrup Solids
18
Textured Vegetable Protein
19
Soy Flour
20
Caramel Coloring
Coloring
Avoid Approved (color additive, GRAS)
21
Whey Powder
22
Tapioca Starch
NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
23
Corn Starch
24
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
25
Mono And Diglycerides
26
Gum Acacia
27
Cheddar Cheese
28
Blue Cheese
29
Milk
30
Cultures
31
Enzymes
32
Buttermilk
33
Natural And Artificial Flavors
34
Hydrolyzed Wheat And Soy Protein
35
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
36
Tomatoes
37
Vegetable Oil
38
Canola Oil
39
Soybean Oil
40
Sunflower Oil
41
Palm Oil
42
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
43
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
44
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
45
Color
46
Annatto Extract
47
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
48
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
49
Yeast Extract

Full Ingredient List

Enriched pasta (wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), freeze-dried cooked beef topping (beef, salt, spices, hydrolyzed corn protein, flavorings, grill flavor, tapioca dextrin, modified food starch, corn syrup solids, textured vegetable protein (soy flour, caramel color)), whey powder, tapioca starch, corn starch, potassium chloride, mono and diglycerides, salt, gum acacia, cheddar cheese, blue cheese (milk, cultures, enzymes), buttermilk, natural and artificial flavors, hydrolyzed wheat and soy protein, calcium lactate, tomatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, coconut oil), garlic, citric acid, spices, color (annatto extract, yellow 5, yellow 6), yeast extract.

Other products containing Hydrolyzed Wheat And Soy Protein

Hydrolyzed Wheat And Soy Protein is the least common ingredient on this label, appearing in 5 products across the catalog. See its safety profile.

Categories

Cooking helpers Shelf-stable cooking helpers

Lower-score cross-brand comparables for Cheeseburger Macaroni

Neighbours outside Hamburger Helper in the same lower screening band as Cheeseburger Macaroni (45/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Hamburger Helper; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Yellow 6 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Cheeseburger Macaroni's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 49-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Yellow 6. Open Yellow 6
  • Compare Cheeseburger Macaroni's 3 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 0652729711288: 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.