Product Insight: Beefy Taco Dinner Mix
Beefy Taco Dinner Mix by Hill Country is tracked in PlainIngredients with 4 identified ingredients and carries an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5 — a Low-Risk-to-Safe tier backed by FDA and EU regulatory status. On the NOVA processing scale, this product falls into Group 4 (Ultra-processed foods), a standard framework for classifying how heavily food has been industrially modified before reaching the shelf, and Its Nutri-Score grade is D, the European front-of-pack nutritional label summarizing calories, saturated fat, sodium, sugar, protein, fiber, and produce content. Within the identified ingredient list, 1 ingredient is currently flagged as Caution or High Risk and warrant individual review via the linked ingredient pages, while 3 ingredients sit at the Low-Risk or Safe end of the scale.
Our composite score weighs each ingredient's U.S. FDA regulatory status (GRAS, Approved, or Banned), European Union food-additive status under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, any U.S. state-level restrictions, and signals drawn from peer-reviewed toxicology literature. The per-product score is the mean of the per-ingredient ratings and should be read as a structured summary rather than a clinical verdict; edge cases such as cumulative exposure, individual allergies, and dietary interactions are not captured by a single number and are better addressed by reading the individual ingredient pages linked below.
Sources: Open Food Facts (product + ingredient list, CC0 licensed) · FDA SAFFA · EU Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 · U.S. state food-safety statutes
- Monosodium Glutamate — Safety score: 2/5
Ingredient Safety Breakdown
Processing Level
Ultra-processed products are formulations made mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods and additives. They typically contain ingredients not commonly used in home cooking.
Full Ingredients List
ENRICHED MACARONI PRODUCT (SEMOLINA WHEAT FLOUR WITH NIACIN, IRON [FERROUS SULFATE], THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), CORN STARCH, MALTODEXTRIN, SALT, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, CHILI SEASONING (DEHYDRATED CHILI PEPPER, SPICE, SALT, DEHYDRATED GARLIC), DEHYDRATED ONION, DEHYDRATED TOMATO, WHEY, YELLOW CORN FLOUR (WITH TRACES OF LIME), SUGAR, ENZYME-MODIFIED CHEDDAR CHEESE AND BUTTER (CHEDDAR CHEESE [MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES], BUTTER [CREAM, SALT], CHEESE CULTURE ENZYMES), CHEESE CHEDDAR (MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), SPICE, MODIFIED TAPIOCA STARCH, COLOR (PAPRIKA, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6, OLEORESIN PAPRIKA), BUTTERMILK, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, DEHYDRATED GARLIC, DEHYDRATED RED AND GREEN BELL PEPPERS, LACTIC ACID, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, BLUE CHEESE (CULTURED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES), CITRIC ACID, REDUCED LACTOSE WHEY, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR.
Data Sources
- Open Food Facts — Product data and ingredient lists
- FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) Inventory — Safety scores
- EU Food Additive Regulations (EC) No 1333/2008
Product Details
- Brand
- Hill Country
- Barcode
- 0041220672837
- Nutri-Score
- Grade D
- NOVA Group
- 4 — Ultra-processed foods
- Available In
- United States
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Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
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