Instant mashed potatoes
Instant mashed potatoes by Food Lion has 5 tracked ingredients, with an overall safety score of 4.2 out of 5, in line with the 4.12/5 average across all scored products.
- Safety score in line with the 4.12/5 average across all scored products
- NOVA processing classification: group 4
Plant-based foods and beverages / Plant-based foods / Cereals and potatoes / Meals / Dried products / Dried products to be rehydrated / Purées / Potato preparations / Mashed potatoes / Instant mashed potatoes
How This Score Is Built
This 1-5 scale is an editorially-derived index, not an official government rating -- it synthesizes FDA status, EU regulatory status, US state actions, and published research. For Instant mashed potatoes, 5 of its 5 tracked ingredients carry a scored rating so far, current as of 2026-09-07.
Data draws on Open Food Facts, FDA, and EU regulatory records -- cross-check with the FDA → directly, or read how we score it.
Where Instant mashed potatoes sits nationally
Average ingredient safety score vs. 58,710 other scored products in PlainIngredients
4.2 Top 40% higher than 60% 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
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
Potato flakes (dehydrated potato, mono - and diglycerides, preservatives [sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bisulfite, citric acid]), corn syrup solids, salt, maltodextrin, whey, palm oil, contains 2% or less of each of the following: nonfat milk, dehydrated roasted garlic, sugar, natural flavor, dextrose, sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, monoglycerides, spice, citric acid, guar gum, sodium silicoaluminate (anti-caking agent), disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, turmeric (color), tbhq (preservative).
Compare beyond brand
Nationwide peers by additive safety & ingredient depth
Two PlainIngredients-derived comparison paths for Instant mashed potatoes: 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: 4.2/5.
Similar mapped ingredient depth
Nearest products by count of scored mapped additives. This record: 5.
Product Details
- Brand
- Food Lion
- Barcode
- 0035826079626
- NOVA Group
- 4 — Ultra-processed foods
- Available In
- United States
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Frequently asked questions
Is Instant mashed potatoes above or below average on ingredient safety?
Instant mashed potatoes scores 4.2 out of 5 for average ingredient safety, safer than 60% of the 58,710 products in PlainIngredients with a scored ingredient list, in line with the 4.12/5 average across all scored products.
What's behind the 4.2/5 rating on Instant mashed potatoes?
Each ingredient gets a 1-5 score (1 highest risk, 5 safest) built from FDA and EU regulatory status; Instant mashed potatoes's 4.2/5 is the average across every mapped ingredient it lists, landing it in 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.