Original Mac & Cheese Dinner

Name: Original Mac & Cheese Dinner
Brand: Kraft

0Avoid

Breakdown

Ultra-processed · 1 contaminant flagged · 4 ingredients to avoid

Includes lab results from its product family: Kraft Mac & Cheese Dinner (boxed, sauce packet)

100

Lab-measured contaminants

Measured against published safety limits

−25

cadmium−25

Ingredients

−85

enriched macaroni−12

folic acid−11

sodium triphosphate−11

sodium phosphate−10

niacin−4

11 more deductions−37

Processing

−10

NOVA 4: ultra-processed−10

Adjustments

What it takes to land on the final number

+20

Minimum score+20

Final score0

Contaminants · 4

1 at/over limit

From lab tests of this product’s family

Kraft Mac & Cheese Dinner (boxed, sauce packet)

This product wasn’t tested · results may differ

In the family’s tests: measured by an independent lab and compared against published safety limits.

Cadmium7.32 ppbof 5 ppb

Over the limit — 1.5×FDA bottled-water Standard of Quality, 21 CFR 165.110(b) — 0.005 mg/L

Measured in: Original Mac and Cheese Dinner

ArsenicNDof 10 ppb

Not detectedFDA bottled-water Standard of Quality, 21 CFR 165.110(b) — 0.010 mg/L (= EPA MCL)

Measured in: Original Mac and Cheese Dinner

LeadNDof 5 ppb

Not detectedFDA bottled-water Standard of Quality, 21 CFR 165.110(b) — 0.005 mg/L

Measured in: Original Mac and Cheese Dinner

MercuryNDof 2 ppb

Not detectedFDA bottled-water Standard of Quality, 21 CFR 165.110(b) — 0.002 mg/L

Measured in: Original Mac and Cheese Dinner

Ingredients · 27

GoodCautionAvoid

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Healthier swaps

Same shelf, cleaner ingredients

Nutrition facts

Nutrient	Per 100g	Per serving
Calories	357.14 kcal	250 kcal
Fat	2.86 g	2 g
Saturated fat	1.43 g	1 g
Carbohydrates	70 g	49 g
Sugars	12.86 g	9 g
Fiber	2.86 g	2 g
Protein	12.86 g	9 g
Sodium	0.8 g	0.56 g

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Common questions

Is Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner healthy?

Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner scores 0/100 on Tallow — our avoid band. That number comes from what is on the label: the ingredients, how processed it is, and what it is packaged in, plus lab results from its product family, Kraft Mac & Cheese Dinner (boxed, sauce packet). Per serving it carries 2g fiber, 9g protein and 9g sugar. It is not a verdict on your diet — Tallow does not weigh calories, portion size or how often you eat it, so a high score means the ingredients are clean, not that the food is unlimited.

What is in Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner?

Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner lists 27 ingredients, starting with Enriched Macaroni, Wheat Flour, Durum Flour, Niacin and Ferrous Sulfate. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, so the first few make up most of what you are eating.

How many calories are in Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner?

250 kcal per serving, or 357 kcal per 100g. Calories are only part of the picture — Tallow scores Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner on what the ingredients are, not how many calories they carry.

Does Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner contain seed oils?

No. Nothing in Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner’s ingredient list matches a seed oil — canola, soybean, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower, rice bran or peanut oil, or an unspecified "vegetable oil".

How processed is Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner?

Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner is NOVA group 4: ultra-processed. That is the top of the scale and the classification the score penalises most heavily.

How does Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner compare to other pasta & noodles?

At 0/100 Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner scores worse than most pasta & noodles we have scored. A higher-scoring option in pasta & noodles is Rao's Homemade Spaghetti at 100/100.

Is Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner organic?

Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner is not certified organic in our data.

Has Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner been lab tested?

Not this product itself. It shares a base recipe (Wheat/durum macaroni with powdered cheese sauce (whey, milk fat, tapioca); no cocoa, rice, nut or protein powder) with the other products in its family, Kraft Mac & Cheese Dinner (boxed, sauce packet), and 1 product in its family has been lab tested. This product is scored with the worst result for each contaminant across those tests. Those results are in the family's Contaminants section above; its own results may differ.

Does Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner contain heavy metals?

Kraft Original Mac & Cheese Dinner itself has not been tested for heavy metals, but other products in its family, which share its base recipe, have: a lab detected cadmium at 7.32 ppb against a 5 ppb limit in Original Mac and Cheese Dinner. This product is scored with the worst result for each contaminant across those tests. Its own results may differ.

Full methodology: how we score products.