Safe

Spaghetti & meatballs

by Boston Market

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0738912022437 · Boston Market · Frozen foods. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0738912022437 · Serving size 1 PACKAGE (383 g)

The verdict

Spaghetti & meatballs by Boston Market scores 95/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 57 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 57-component record, beginning with Cooked Enriched Macaroni Product, Water, Durum Semolina. 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 57 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.

Composite profile score

One verdict from three independent sources

65/100

Grade B-

Ingredient Safety

95/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

C

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.

12022437 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Spaghetti & meatballs label screening desk

SCORE-SAFE 95/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 57 ing. REG-SPARSE 25% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-C Nutri-C RANK-SHORT Len top 14% LEAD-FLAG Caramel Coloring PHOTO-FINISH Cereal, crunchy honey · ±0 BOOK-OFF …022437 · July 2026

14 of 57 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Caramel Coloring). Source sheet 12022437 · 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: Cereal, crunchy honey roasted · Nearest score peer is Cereal, crunchy honey roasted 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 settled on its middle grade here, the band the algorithm produces when the penalty and credit sides of its nutrient ledger come out close to balanced. A mid-scale grade is a statement about the panel as a whole rather than about any single nutrient, and products arrive at it by very different routes: a moderate profile across every term, or high marks on some offset by heavy penalties on others. The grade is computed separately from the ingredient screen below and the two are not comparable measures.

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. Spaghetti & meatballs: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Spaghetti & meatballs95/1002. Cereal, crunchy honey roasted: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Cereal, crunchy honey roa…95/1003. Taco Meat: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Taco Meat95/1004. Tallarico's, chili hot dog sauce: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Tallarico's, chili hot do…95/1005. Beef Flavor Soup Base, Beef: 95/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Beef Flavor Soup Base, Be…95/100
High-band neighbours for Spaghetti & meatballs (95/100) outside Boston Market.
Chart values as text

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

Spaghetti & meatballs
95/100
Cereal, crunchy honey roasted
95/100
Taco Meat
95/100
Tallarico's, chili hot dog sauce
95/100
Beef Flavor Soup Base, Beef
95/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 24,982 products we've scored in the Frozen foods category, the average safety score is 92.9/100. Spaghetti & meatballs scores 2.1 points above that category average (95/100 vs. 92.9/100), 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 Frozen foods products

Spaghetti & meatballs lists 57 ingredients on its label

57 86th percentile a longer ingredient list than 86% of the 7,008 products we track

0–2: 11 products (0%). Below this entry. 2–4: 54 products (1%). Below this entry. 4–6: 54 products (1%). Below this entry. 6–8: 66 products (1%). Below this entry. 8–10: 102 products (1%). Below this entry. 10–12: 112 products (2%). Below this entry. 12–14: 184 products (3%). Below this entry. 14–16: 205 products (3%). Below this entry. 16–18: 245 products (3%). Below this entry. 18–20: 284 products (4%). Below this entry. 20–22: 264 products (4%). Below this entry. 22–24: 298 products (4%). Below this entry. 24–26: 247 products (4%). Below this entry. 26–28: 271 products (4%). Below this entry. 28–30: 284 products (4%). Below this entry. 30–32: 294 products (4%). Below this entry. 32–34: 325 products (5%). Below this entry. 34–36: 319 products (5%). Below this entry. 36–38: 314 products (4%). Below this entry. 38–40: 283 products (4%). Below this entry. 40–42: 2,792 products (40%). This entry sits in this band. This product 0 42 every published Frozen foods 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

7,008 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 57 (86th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
11 products (0%)
2–4
54 products (1%)
4–6
54 products (1%)
6–8
66 products (1%)
8–10
102 products (1%)
10–12
112 products (2%)
12–14
184 products (3%)
14–16
205 products (3%)
16–18
245 products (3%)
18–20
284 products (4%)
20–22
264 products (4%)
22–24
298 products (4%)
24–26
247 products (4%)
26–28
271 products (4%)
28–30
284 products (4%)
30–32
294 products (4%)
32–34
325 products (5%)
34–36
319 products (5%)
36–38
314 products (4%)
38–40
283 products (4%)
40 and above
2,792 products (40%)

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 7,008 Frozen foods 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 95/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (1 flagged of 57 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

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
Cooked Meatballs
10
Beef
11
Pork
12
Textured Vegetable Protein
13
Soy Flour
14
Caramel Coloring
Coloring
Avoid Approved (color additive, GRAS)
15
Soy Protein Concentrate
16
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
17
Onion
18
Flavoring
19
Spices
20
Dehydrated Parsley
21
Whole Eggs
22
Wheat Flour
23
Nonfat Dry Milk
24
Diced Tomatoes
25
Tomatoes
26
Tomato Juice
27
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
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
Tomato Paste
30
Low Moisture Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese
31
Cheese
32
Cultured Pasteurized Part Skim Milk
33
Enzymes
34
Modified Food Starch
35
Less Than 2% Of Onions
36
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
37
Garlic
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
GRAS
38
Water And Citric Acid
39
Canola Oil
40
Burgundy Wine
41
Wine
42
Grated Cheese Blend
43
Parmesan
44
Romano And Asiago Cheeses
45
Organic Cultured Cow's Milk
46
Natural Flavor
47
Cellulose
Emulsifier
Safe
48
Granulated Garlic
49
Tomato Powder
50
Tomato Paste
51
Tomato Paste Flavor
52
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
53
Gum Arabic
54
Propylene Glycol
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, HUMECTANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
55
Corn Starch
56
Toasted Onion Powder
57
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]), cooked meatballs (beef, pork, water, textured vegetable protein [soy flour, caramel color], soy protein concentrate, salt, onion, flavoring, spices, parsley, dried whole eggs, wheat flour, nonfat dry milk), water, diced tomatoes (tomatoes, tomato juice, calcium chloride, citric acid), tomato paste, low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese (cheese [cultured pasteurized part skim milk, salt, enzymes], modified food starch), less than 2% of onions, sugar, garlic (with water and citric acid), canola oil, burgundy wine (wine, salt), grated cheese blend (parmesan, romano and asiago cheeses [cultured cow's milk, salt, enzymes], natural flavor, cellulose, salt), granulated garlic, tomato powder (dehydrated tomato paste), salt, tomato paste flavor (natural flavor, maltodextrin, gum arabic, propylene glycol, corn starch), spices, toasted onion powder, modified food starch, xanthan gum, parsley.

Other products containing Romano And Asiago Cheeses

Romano And Asiago Cheeses is the least common ingredient on this label, appearing in 8 products across the catalog. See its safety profile.

Categories

Frozen foods

High-score cross-brand comparables for Spaghetti & meatballs

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

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Caramel Coloring is the first flagged ingredient selected from Spaghetti & meatballs's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 57-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Caramel Coloring. Open Caramel Coloring
  • Compare Spaghetti & meatballs'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 0738912022437: 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.