Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Michelina's Macaroni and Cheese ultra-processed?

255 g Pasta dishes Sold in Canada

Pack of Michelina's Macaroni and Cheese

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:

  • 25 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score C

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 (water, wheat macaroni), Water, Half and half (milk, cream), Cold-pack cheddar cheese (cheddar cheese (milk, salt, bacterial culture, microbial enzyme), water, salt, annatto colour), Soybean oil margarine, Modified corn starch, Salt, Canola oil, Vinegar, Xanthan gum, Yeast extract, Annatto colour, Cheese flavour

Additives: E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Cooked macaroni (water, wheat macaroni), Water, Half and half (milk, cream), Cold-pack cheddar cheese (cheddar cheese (milk, salt, bacterial culture, microbial enzyme), water, salt, annatto colour), Soybean oil margarine, Modified corn starch, Salt, Canola oil, Vinegar, Xanthan gum, Yeast extract, Annatto colour, Cheese flavour

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.

  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • 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.
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 543 pasta dishes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 360th. 73% 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 543 pasta dishes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0717854215152, last edited 29 July 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.