Mac and Cheese
Mac and Cheese by Kroger has 4 tracked ingredients, with an overall safety score of 4.8 out of 5, 0.68 points above the 4.12/5 average across all scored products.
- Safety score 0.68 points above the 4.12/5 average across all scored products
- NOVA processing classification: group 4
How This Score Is Built
Mac and 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). 4 of its 4 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 Mac and Cheese sits nationally
Average ingredient safety score vs. 58,710 other scored products in PlainIngredients
4.8 Top 16% higher than 84% 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
enriched macaroni (wheat flour, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), whey, maltodextrin, non-fat dry milk, salt, food starch-modified, corn syrup solids, whey protein concentrate, cheddar cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), cellulose gum, color added (annatto extract, turmeric extract, paprika extract), soybean oil, silicon dioxide, citric acid, lactic acid powder, xanthan gum, sodium phosphate
Compare beyond brand
Nationwide peers by additive safety & ingredient depth
Two PlainIngredients-derived comparison paths for Mac and 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: 4.8/5.
Similar mapped ingredient depth
Nearest products by count of scored mapped additives. This record: 4.
- Eckrich, 4 Pepper Smoked Sausage Δ 0 additives · Armour-Eckrich Meats Llc 4additives · 2.5/5
- Smoked Sausage Δ 0 additives 4additives · 2.5/5
- Caffeine free fruit punch artificially flavored soda, fruit punch Δ 0 additives · Food Club, Topco Associates Inc. 4additives · 2.8/5
- Canadian Bacon Δ 0 additives · Black Forest, Land O'Frost Inc. 4additives · 2.8/5
Product Details
- Brand
- Kroger
- Barcode
- 0011110100122
- NOVA Group
- 4 — Ultra-processed foods
- Available In
- United States
Find Products
Frequently asked questions
How does Mac and Cheese's safety score compare to other products?
Mac and Cheese scores 4.8 out of 5 for average ingredient safety, safer than 84% of the 58,710 products in PlainIngredients with a scored ingredient list, 0.68 points above the 4.12/5 average across all scored products.
What's behind the 4.8/5 rating on Mac and Cheese?
The 1-5 scale (5 safest) comes from FDA and EU regulatory status per ingredient. Mac and Cheese's mapped ingredients average out to 4.8/5, which is the Generally Safe 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.