Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Cheese Club macaroni and cheese dinner ultra-processed?

206 g Pasta dishes Sold in the United States

Pack of Cheese Club macaroni and cheese dinner

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 32 ingredients
  • No additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed pasta dishes

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

macaroni (flour, reduced iron, niacin, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), cheese seasoning (dairy, whey, enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), salt, modified food starch (corn), natural flavors, annatto (for color), soybean oil, cheddar cheese powder (cheddar cheese (milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), sodium phosphate), silicon dioxide)

As written on the pack

Enriched macaroni (flour, reduced iron, niacin, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), cheese seasoning (dairy solids, whey, enriched wheat flour [flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], salt, modified food starch (corn), natural flavors, annatto extract (for color), soybean oil, cheddar cheese powder [cheddar cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), sodium phosphate], silicon dioxide). Contains: wheat, milk.

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
5 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 544 pasta dishes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 395th. 72% of the pasta dishes here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 544 pasta dishes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4099100231953, last edited 8 June 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.