Safe

Macaroni & cheese

by Whole Foods Market

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0723055852409 · Whole Foods Market · Meals. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0723055852409 · Serving size 1 cup (200 g)

The verdict

Macaroni & cheese by Whole Foods Market scores 95/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 42 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 1 ingredient is flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 42-component record, beginning with Organic Pasta, Durum Wheat Semolina, 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.

95/100
Safe safety score
1
One flagged · of 42 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
D
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

60/100

Grade C+

Ingredient Safety

95/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

D

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.

55852409 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Macaroni & cheese label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 95/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 42 ing. REG-SPARSE 14% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-D Nutri-D RANK-MID Len top 25% LEAD-FLAG Carrageenan PHOTO-FINISH No Brand, Macaroni · ±0 BOOK-OFF …852409 · July 2026

6 of 42 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Carrageenan). Source sheet 55852409 · 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: No Brand, Macaroni Salad · Nearest score peer is No Brand, Macaroni 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.

This label falls in the fourth Nutri-Score band. The model arrives there when its penalty terms — energy density, sugars, saturated fat, sodium — carry more weight in the calculation than the fibre, protein and produce content it credits. The band covers a wide span of the points scale, so position within it is not visible from the letter alone. The grade reflects the declared nutrition panel and is unrelated to the additive ratings listed below, which come from different bodies applying different criteria.

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. Macaroni & cheese: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Macaroni & cheese95/1002. No Brand, Macaroni Salad: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. No Brand, Macaroni Salad95/1003. Belfonte, Veggie Ranch Dip: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Belfonte, Veggie Ranch Dip95/1004. Small Curd Nonfat Cottage Cheese: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Small Curd Nonfat Cottage…95/1005. Belfonte, Nonfat Cottage Cheese: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Belfonte, Nonfat Cottage …95/100
High-band neighbours for Macaroni & cheese (95/100) outside Whole Foods Market.
Chart values as text

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

Macaroni & cheese
95/100
No Brand, Macaroni Salad
95/100
Belfonte, Veggie Ranch Dip
95/100
Small Curd Nonfat Cottage Cheese
95/100
Belfonte, Nonfat Cottage Cheese
95/100

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. Macaroni & cheese scores 1.4 points above that category average (95/100 vs. 93.6/100), so it is roughly typical for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient-list length vs other Meals products

Macaroni & cheese lists 42 ingredients on its label

42 75th percentile a longer ingredient list than 75% 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: 42 (75th 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.

Full Ingredient List

Pasta (durum wheat semolina, niacin, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, folic acid), milk, cheddar cheese (pasteurized milk, cultures, enzymes, salt, annatto), buttermilk (cultured milk, stabilizer (modified food starch, sodium phosphate, guar gum, carrageenan, locust bean gum), salt, vitamin a palmitate vitamin d3), unsalted butter (milk), cream cheese (pasteurized cultured milk and cream, salt, stabilizers (xanthan, locust bean, guar gums)), wheat flour (wheat, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), heavy cream (pasteurized cream (milk)), canola oil, whole grain mustard (black mustard seeds, vinegar), parsley, white pepper.

Other products containing Vitamin A Palmitate Vitamin D3

Vitamin A Palmitate Vitamin D3 is the least common ingredient on this label, appearing in 5 products across the catalog. See its safety profile.

Categories

Meals Pasta dishes Macaroni and cheese

High-score cross-brand comparables for Macaroni & cheese

Neighbours outside Whole Foods Market with screening scores in the same high band as Macaroni & cheese (95/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Whole Foods Market; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Carrageenan is the first flagged ingredient selected from Macaroni & cheese's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 42-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Carrageenan. Open Carrageenan
  • Compare Macaroni & cheese's 1 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 0723055852409: 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.