Caution

Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese

by Counter

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0850048199040 · Counter · Frozen foods. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0850048199040 · Serving size 1 bowl (284 g)

The verdict

Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese by Counter scores 85/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 35 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 35-component record, beginning with Cooked Enriched Elbow Pasta, Enriched Durum Semolina, Durum Wheat 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.

85/100
Caution safety score
1
One flagged · of 35 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
B
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

85/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

B

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.

48199040 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 85/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-DENSE 35 ing. REG-PART 31% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-B Nutri-B RANK-LONG Len top 51% LEAD-FLAG Sodium Nitrite PHOTO-FINISH Pizza Soup · ±0 BOOK-OFF …199040 · July 2026

11 of 35 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Sodium Nitrite). Source sheet 48199040 · 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: Pizza Soup · Nearest score peer is Pizza Soup 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.

The Nutri-Score algorithm returned its second band for this label. That grade typically describes a nutrition panel whose favourable components register clearly in the model without fully offsetting its energy or sodium terms. Because the calculation is a single points balance rather than a set of independent thresholds, a strong fibre or protein figure can lift a panel into this band even where one penalised nutrient sits high. The grade summarises the declared panel alone and carries no information about the additive ratings screened below.

This label parsed into a long component list. Where many entries are screened at once, the composite tends to reflect the overall mix of registry ratings returned rather than the rating of any one entry. Longer declarations also carry more sub-listed and compound entries, where a parenthetical group is resolved into its parts, so the parsed count can exceed what a reader counts on the packaging.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Jalapeno Popper Mac & Che…85/1002. Pizza Soup: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Pizza Soup85/1003. Brownie Batter Flavored Protein Bars: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Brownie Batter Flavored P…85/1004. Essential Pre-Workout: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Essential Pre-Workout85/1005. Citrus Burst: 85/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Citrus Burst85/100
High-band neighbours for Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese (85/100) outside Counter.
Chart values as text

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

Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese
85/100
Pizza Soup
85/100
Brownie Batter Flavored Protein Bars
85/100
Essential Pre-Workout
85/100
Citrus Burst
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. Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese 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

Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese lists 35 ingredients on its label

35 49th percentile a longer ingredient list than 49% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 36–38: 314 products (4%). Above this entry. 38–40: 283 products (4%). Above this entry. 40–42: 2,792 products (40%). Above this entry. 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: 35 (49th 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 35 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

Full Ingredient List

Cooked enriched elbow pasta (enriched durum semolina [durum wheat semolina, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], water), diced grilled chicken breast (chicken breast, water, seasoning), cottage cheese (cultured pasteurized skim milk, cream, salt), bacon (pork, water, salt, sugar, sodium phosphates, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite), bell pepper medley (red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, green bell peppers), onion, jalapeno peppers, cream cheese (pasteurized milk, cream, cheese culture, salt, carob bean gum), rice starch, salt, spices, xanthan gum.

Categories

Frozen foods Meals Pasta dishes Combination Meals Frozen ready-made meals Mac-and-cheese

High-score cross-brand comparables for Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese

Neighbours outside Counter with screening scores in the same high band as Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese (85/100 here). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Counter; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Sodium Nitrite is the first flagged ingredient selected from Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 35-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Sodium Nitrite. Open Sodium Nitrite
  • Compare Jalapeno Popper Mac & 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 0850048199040: 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.