Luby's our famous classic macaroni & cheese with

100
Safe
Safety Score (out of 100)

Luby's our famous classic macaroni & cheese with receives a safety score of 100/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. None of the ingredients in this product are flagged for safety concerns by FDA or CSPI databases. Product label data is sourced from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative database. See the full ingredient breakdown and safety assessment below.

Barcode
0861301000379
Nutri-Score
d
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed
Serving Size
1 BOWL (284 g)

What the Data Says About

Luby's our famous classic macaroni & cheese with 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.

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, Luby's our famous classic macaroni & cheese with 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 D 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 Luby's our famous classic macaroni & cheese with
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 D OpenFoodFacts

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

Ingredient Safety Analysis

1
Water
2
Elbow Macaroni
3
Semolina
4
Ferrous Sulfate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
5
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
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
Soybean Oil
10
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
11
American Cheese
12
Cultured Pasteurized Milk And Skim Milk
13
Cream
14
Sodium Phosphate
15
Artificial Color
16
Enzymes
17
Cellulose
Emulsifier
Safe
18
Anticaking
19
Margarine
20
Palm Oil
21
Vegetable Mono And Diglycerides
22
Soybeans
23
Soy Lecithin
24
Sodium Benzoate
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FUMIGANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
25
Preservative
26
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
27
Natural And Artificial Flavor
28
Beta Carotene
29
Color
30
Vitamin A Palmitate
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
31
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
32
Enriched Wheat Flour
33
Wheat Flour
34
Reduced Iron
35
Milk Powder
36
Dried Red Bell Peppers
37
Pickled Jalapeno Peppers
38
Jalapeno Peppers
39
Vinegar
40
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

Full Ingredient List

Water, elbow macaroni (water, semolina, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), soybean oil, salt, american cheese (cultured pasteurized milk and skim milk, cream, salt, contains less than 2% of: sodium phosphate, artificial color, enzymes, powdered cellulose [anticaking]), margarine (palm oil, water, soybean oil, salt, vegetable mono and diglycerides [soybeans], soy lecithin, sodium benzoate [preservative], citric acid, natural and artificial flavor, beta carotene [color], vitamin a palmitate, whey), enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), milk powder, salt, red bell peppers, pickled jalapeno peppers (jalapeno peppers, salt, vinegar, calcium chloride), american cheese (cultured pasteurized milk and skim milk, cream, salt, contains less than 2% of: sodium phosphate, artificial color, enzymes, powdered cellulose [anticaking]).

Categories

Frozen foods

Data Sources

Data as of 2025. 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.

Related

Data sourced from official FDA, USDA, and CDC food-safety databases. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFoodSafe Editorial