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Is Cheetos Mac 'n Cheese Bold & Cheesy ultra-processed?

5.9 oz (170 g) Instant pasta with cheese Sold in the United States and Bolivia

Pack of Cheetos Mac 'n Cheese Bold & Cheesy

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:

  • 37 ingredients
  • 8 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed instant pasta with cheese

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

Wheat flour, whey, cheddar cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), salt, palm oil, canola oil, maltodextrin, natural and artificial flavor, whey protein, corn syrup solids, modified corn starch, lactic acid, citric acid, monosodium glutamate, yellow 6, nonfat milk, autolyzed yeast extract, buttermilk, hydrolyzed soy protein, blue cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), guar gum, xanthan gum, iron, niacin, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid

Additives: E110 Sunset yellow FCF , E270 Lactic acid , E330 Citric acid , E412 Guar gum , E415 Xanthan gum , E621 Monosodium glutamate , E627 Disodium guanylate , E631 Disodium inosinate

As written on the pack

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, iron, niacin, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid.

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.

  • E110 Sunset yellow FCF Sunset yellow FCF is a synthetic orange azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 6 in the US).
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
  • E627 Disodium guanylate Disodium guanylate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
  • E631 Disodium inosinate Disodium inosinate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
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  • 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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • 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.
4 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 9 instant pasta with cheese

From least to most processed, this one ranks 9th. 78% of the instant pasta with cheese 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 9 instant pasta with cheese, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0015300014985, last edited 18 September 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.