Caution

Cheesy Potatoes & Ham

by Boston Market

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0738912022628 · Boston Market · Frozen foods. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0738912022628 · Serving size 1 PACKAGE (397 g)

The verdict

Cheesy Potatoes & Ham by Boston Market scores 85/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 51 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 51-component record, beginning with Roasted Red Potatoes, Water, Cooked Diced Ham. 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.

85/100
Caution safety score
1
One flagged · of 51 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

60/100

Grade C+

Ingredient Safety

85/100

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.

12022628 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Cheesy Potatoes & Ham label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 85/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 51 ing. REG-SPARSE 20% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-C Nutri-C RANK-SHORT Len top 20% LEAD-FLAG Sodium Nitrite PHOTO-FINISH Graham pie crust · ±0 BOOK-OFF …022628 · July 2026

10 of 51 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Sodium Nitrite). Source sheet 12022628 · 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: Graham pie crust · Nearest score peer is Graham pie crust 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 second band of the four-tier framework. That band collects labels whose registry-rated components pull the derived score down measurably without dominating it. Position inside a band is not visible from the band name, and two labels sharing it can differ in how many components were rated and how severely. This is a threshold on an index computed here from public data, not a regulatory classification of any kind; the exact cut-offs are published 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. Cheesy Potatoes & Ham: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Cheesy Potatoes & Ham85/1002. Graham pie crust: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Graham pie crust85/1003. Ice Tea Green Zero: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Ice Tea Green Zero85/1004. Electrolyte Volumizing Hydration: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Electrolyte Volumizing Hy…85/1005. Jumbos Plump & Juicy, Chicken Franks Pork And Beef Added: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Jumbos Plump & Juicy, Chi…85/100
High-band neighbours for Cheesy Potatoes & Ham (85/100) outside Boston Market.
Chart values as text

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

Cheesy Potatoes & Ham
85/100
Graham pie crust
85/100
Ice Tea Green Zero
85/100
Electrolyte Volumizing Hydration
85/100
Jumbos Plump & Juicy, Chicken Franks Pork And Beef Added
85/100

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. Cheesy Potatoes & Ham scores 7.9 points below that category average (85/100 vs. 92.9/100), 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 Frozen foods products

Cheesy Potatoes & Ham lists 51 ingredients on its label

51 80th percentile a longer ingredient list than 80% 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: 51 (80th 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 85/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (1 flagged of 51 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Roasted Red Potatoes
2
Water
3
Cooked Diced Ham
4
Ham
5
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
6
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
7
Sodium Phosphate
8
Sodium Erythorbate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DOUGH STRENGTHENER, FLOUR TREATING AGENT, OXIDIZING OR REDUCING AGENT, PROCESSING AID, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT
Safe GRAS
9
Natural Smoke Flavor
10
Sodium Nitrite
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PROPELLANT
Avoid Prior Sanctioned
11
Half And Half
12
Milk
13
Cream
14
Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread
15
American Cheese
16
Pasteurized Milk
17
Cheese Culture
18
Enzymes
19
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
20
Milkfat
21
Sodium-alginate
22
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
23
Apocarotenal
24
Color
25
Cheddar Club Cheese
26
Cheddar Cheese
27
Annatto
Coloring
Certain People Should Avoid
28
Less Than 2% Of Modified Food Starch
29
Canola Oil
30
Cheese Flavor
31
Cultures
32
Yeast Extract
33
Natural Flavors
34
Disodium Phosphate
35
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
36
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
37
Rice Wine Vinegar
38
Rice
39
Natural Flavor
40
Nonfat Dry Milk
41
Natural Flavor
42
Blue Cheese Powder
43
Blue Cheese
44
Whey Powder
45
Corn Starch
46
Parmesan Flavor
47
Parmesan Cheese
48
Culture
49
Mustard Flour
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
50
Spice
51
Vital Wheat Gluten

Full Ingredient List

Roasted red potatoes, water, cooked diced ham (ham, water, salt, sugar, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, natural smoke flavor, sodium nitrite), half and half (milk, cream), pasteurized process cheese spread (american cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes], water, whey, sodium phosphate, contains less than 2% of milkfat, salt, sodium-alginate, lactic acid, apocarotenal [color]), cheddar club cheese (cheddar cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes], water, salt, annatto [color]), less than 2% of modified food starch, canola oil, cheese flavor (cheddar cheese [pasteurized milk, cultures, salt, enzymes], water, yeast extract, natural flavors, disodium phosphate, xanthan gum), maltodextrin, salt, rice wine vinegar (water, rice), yeast extract, disodium phosphate, flavor (maltodextrin, nonfat dry milk, milkfat, natural flavor, salt, disodium phosphate), blue cheese powder (blue cheese [pasteurized milk, salt, cheese culture, enzymes]), natural flavor (cheddar cheese [milk, cultures, salt, enzymes], maltodextrin, whey powder, modified corn starch, natural flavor, disodium phosphate, milkfat), natural parmesan flavor (parmesan cheese [milk, culture, salt, enzymes], water, nonfat dry milk, disodium phosphate, salt), mustard flour, xanthan gum, spice, vital wheat gluten.

Categories

Frozen foods

High-score cross-brand comparables for Cheesy Potatoes & Ham

Neighbours outside Boston Market with screening scores in the same high band as Cheesy Potatoes & Ham (85/100 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

Sodium Nitrite is the first flagged ingredient selected from Cheesy Potatoes & Ham's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 51-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Sodium Nitrite. Open Sodium Nitrite
  • Compare Cheesy Potatoes & Ham'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 0738912022628: 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.