Safe

Five Cheese Ziti

by Michelina's

Scores 100/100 on FDA SAFFA + CSPI ingredient analysis , with no flagged ingredients identified.

Barcode 0717854151146 · Serving size 1 package (241 g)

The verdict

Five Cheese Ziti by Michelina's scores 100/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 45 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 0 ingredients are flagged for caution. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination; check official notices and the product label for current decisions.

100/100
Safe safety score
0
flagged ingredients of 45 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
C
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.

What the Data Says About Five Cheese Ziti

Five Cheese Ziti by Michelina's carries a composite safety score of 100/100, 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. This score is a transparent derived index we compute from that public data, not an official FDA rating or endorsement; see the Methodology page for the exact weighting.

Our scan did not identify any ingredients in this product that FDA SAFFA or CSPI Chemical Cuisine data flags as requiring caution or avoidance at the time of analysis. That is a meaningful clean-label signal, though it does not account for personal allergens, regional recalls, or inspection findings not reflected in federal additive databases. The per-ingredient breakdown below shows the source-level classification for each component.

On the NOVA processing scale, Five Cheese Ziti 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. The Nutri-Score grade of C reflects nutritional balance, calories, saturated fat, sugar, sodium versus fiber, protein, and produce content, which again is a distinct dimension from additive safety and worth weighing alongside the scores above.

Safety Profile at a Glance

Composite safety metrics for Five Cheese Ziti
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 100/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 0 CSPI/FDA review
NOVA processing group Group 4 OpenFoodFacts
Nutri-Score C OpenFoodFacts

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

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 25,915 products we've scored in the Frozen foods category, the average safety score is 93.3/100. Five Cheese Ziti scores 6.7 points above that category average (100/100 vs. 93.3/100), so it is a comparatively strong pick for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

1
Cooked Enriched Macaroni Product
2
Water
3
Durum Semolina
4
Enriched With Niacin
5
Ferrous Sulfate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
6
Thiamine Mononitrate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
7
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
8
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
9
Diced Tomatoes
10
Tomatoes
11
Tomato Juice
12
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
13
Calcium Chloride
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, ENZYME, FIRMING AGENT, FREEZING OR COOLING AGENT, DIRECT CONTACT, FUMIGANT, HUMECTANT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, PH CONTROL AGENT, PROCESSING
GRAS
14
Tomato Paste
15
Low Moisture Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese
16
Cheese
17
Cultured Pasteurized Part Skim Milk
18
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
19
Enzymes
20
Modified Food Starch
21
Organic Onions
22
Less Than 2% Of Parmesan Cheese
23
Pasteurized Part-skim Milk
24
Cheese Cultures
25
Margarine
26
Liquid And Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
27
Less Than 2% Vegetable Mono And Diglycerides
28
Soy Lecithin
29
Natural And Artificial Flavor
30
Bha & Bht Added To Protect Flavor
31
Vitamin A Palmitate And Vitamin D3 Added
32
Asiago Cheese
33
Pasteurized Milk
34
Cheese Culture
35
Cheddar Cheese
36
Cultures
37
Annatto
Coloring
Certain People Should Avoid
38
Color
39
Romano Cheese
40
Pasteurized Part Skim Cow's Milk
41
Canola Oil
42
Spices
43
Cellulose
Emulsifier
Safe
44
Granulated Garlic
45
Xanthan Gum
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FORMULATION AID, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Approved

Full Ingredient List

Cooked enriched macaroni product (water, durum semolina [enriched with niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid]), water, diced tomatoes (tomatoes, tomato juice, citric acid, calcium chloride), tomato paste, low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese (cheese [cultured pasteurized part skim milk, salt, enzymes], modified food starch), onions, less than 2% of parmesan cheese (pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), margarine (liquid and hydrogenated soybean oil, water, salt, less than 2% vegetable mono and diglycerides, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavor, bha & bht added to protect flavor, vitamin a palmitate and vitamin d3 added), salt, asiago cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), cheddar cheese (pasteurized milk, cultures, salt, enzymes, annatto [color]), romano cheese (pasteurized part skim cow's milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), modified food starch, canola oil, spices, cellulose, granulated garlic, xanthan gum.

Categories

Frozen foods

Data Sources

Data as of May 2026. 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.

Product data from Open Food Facts; additive safety from the FDA SAFFA inventory and CSPI Chemical Cuisine. See our methodology for details. Compiled by PlainFoodSafe

Every figure on PlainFoodSafe is rendered directly from OpenFoodFacts and FDA data, no number is typed in by an editor. Product figures are computed directly from OpenFoodFacts, FDA SAFFA, and CSPI Chemical Cuisine data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.