Cheetos Mac & Cheese
Cheetos Mac & Cheese by Cheetos has 12 tracked ingredients, with an overall safety score of 4.1 out of 5, in line with the 4.12/5 average across all scored products. Its Nutri-Score is E, and 1 of its ingredient carries a low safety rating.
- Safety score in line with the 4.12/5 average across all scored products
- NOVA processing classification: group 4
Meals / Pasta dishes
How This Score Is Built
Cheetos Mac & Cheese draws on FDA status, EU regulatory status, US state actions, and published research, combined into a single editorially-derived 1-5 scale (never an official government rating). 12 of its 12 tracked ingredients are scored so far; data as of 2026-09-07.
Open Food Facts, FDA, and EU regulatory records feed this score. The FDA site → has the primary record; our methodology page explains the scoring.
Where Cheetos Mac & Cheese sits nationally
Average ingredient safety score vs. 58,710 other scored products in PlainIngredients
4.1 Top 42% higher than 58% of 58,710 scored products
Average ingredient safety score (1 = highest risk, 5 = safest), bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more scored products. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainIngredients ingredient safety index · 2026-09-07
- 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
Wheat flour, whey, cheddar cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), salt, palm oil, canola oil, maltodextrin, natural and artificial flavor, whey protein concentrate, corn syrup solids, modified corn starch, lactic acid, citric acid, monosodium glutamate, yellow 6, cultured nonfat milk, autolyzed yeast extract, buttermilk, hydrolyzed soy protein, blue cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), guar gum, xanthan gum, niacin, iron, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid.
Compare beyond brand
Nationwide peers by additive safety & ingredient depth
Two PlainIngredients-derived comparison paths for Cheetos Mac & Cheese: nearest mean mapped additive safety score and nearest mapped ingredient count among indexable products with at least 3 scored additives, excluding same-brand siblings. Scores describe regulatory and research signals on additives, not dietary advice.
Similar mean additive safety
Nearest products by average mapped safety score. This record: 4.1/5.
- Organic® Infant Powder Formula with Iron Δ 0.0 pts · Earth's Best 4.1/527 additives
- Organic Gentle Infant Formula with Iron Δ 0.0 pts · Earth's Best 4.1/524 additives
- Organic, Infant Formula With Iron Milk-Based Powder Δ 0.0 pts · Earth's Best, Earth's Best Organic 4.1/523 additives
- Baby Gentle Premium Δ 0.0 pts · H-E-B 4.1/522 additives
Similar mapped ingredient depth
Nearest products by count of scored mapped additives. This record: 12.
- Four meat italian sausage, pepperoni, ham and bacon pizza, four meat Δ 0 additives 12additives · 3.7/5
- All-american cake Δ 0 additives 12additives · 3.8/5
- Bacon cheeseburger fully cooked seasoned beef patty with bacon & process american sharp cheese on a sesame bun sandwich, bacon cheeseburger Δ 0 additives · Topco Associates Inc. 12additives · 3.8/5
- Chocolate espresso swirl cake Δ 0 additives 12additives · 3.8/5
Product Details
- Brand
- Cheetos
- Barcode
- 0015300200289
- Nutri-Score
- Grade E
- NOVA Group
- 4 — Ultra-processed foods
- Available In
- United States
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Frequently asked questions
Is Cheetos Mac & Cheese above or below average on ingredient safety?
With an average ingredient safety score of 4.1/5, Cheetos Mac & Cheese sits ahead of 58% of the 58,710 PlainIngredients products carrying a scored ingredient list, in line with the 4.12/5 average across all scored products.
How should Cheetos Mac & Cheese's 4.1/5 score be read?
The 1-5 scale (5 safest) comes from FDA and EU regulatory status per ingredient. Cheetos Mac & Cheese's mapped ingredients average out to 4.1/5, which is the Low Risk tier.
Every figure on PlainIngredients is rendered directly from FDA, EU, EFSA and U.S. state regulatory records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.