EWG Overall Score Breakdown
The product score is based on weighted scores for nutrition, ingredient and processing concerns. Generally, nutrition counts most, ingredient concerns next and degree of processing least. The weighted scores are added together to determine the final score.Read more about scores here.
EWG scored on three factors: nutrition, ingredient concerns, and the degree of processing. Read the full scoring methodology.
Lower concern
Higher concern
Lower concern
Higher concern
1
10
Read our full methodology
Considers calories, saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, sodium, protein, fiber and fruit, vegetable and nut content to differentiate between healthful and less healthful foods. For more information on nutrition concerns, read our full methodology.
Contains a high level of saturated fat [read more]
The nutrition factors used for scoring Que Gusto! Cotija Traditional Mexican Grated Cheese, Cotija
Positive factors
Fruit, vegetable, bean or nut content
Protein content
Fiber content
Omega-3 fatty acids
Negative factors
Calorie density
Sugar/low-calorie sweetener content
Sodium content
Saturated fat content
Trans fat content
Considers food additives, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and contaminants like mercury and BPA, which can affect human health and the environment. For more information on ingredient concerns, read methodology.
This product is not certified organic [read more]
This product has 1 ingredient with concerns:
- Enzyme
This additive is of lower concern in food. Learn why.
Estimates how much the food has been processed. Considers many factors, chief among them, modification of individual ingredients from whole foods and number of artificial ingredients. For more information on processing concerns, read our full methodology.
Product has been classified as having no processing concerns
Products with no processing concerns identified are generally whole foods without additives.
This product is not certified organic [read more]
Products bearing the USDA certified organic seal must contain at least 95 percent organic ingredient, and must be produced without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and free of genetically engineered ingredients.
Contains food additives of lower concern
Does not contain artificial or industrial ingredients [read more]
EWG has not identified any artificial or industrial ingredients in this product.
Contains a high level of saturated fat [read more]
Saturated fat is not an essential nutrient and with increasing intakes there is a increased risk of coronary heart disease (IOM 2005a; USDA and DHHS 2010). For this reason it has long been known as a "bad" fat that raises the "bad" cholesterol, LDL. Numerous authoritative bodies support the recommendation to limit saturated fat to 10 percent of calories -- equivalent to a reasonable limit of 14 slices of bacon's worth of saturated fat a day (WHO 2002; USDA and DHHS 2010).A 2012 review by the Cochrane Collaboration, an independent non-profit organization, found that reducing or replacing saturated fat with other healthy fats reduced the risk of cardiovascular events by 14 percent (Hooper 2012). Other recent reviews have found that there in no evidence of a benefit from reducing saturated fat (Chowdhury 2014; Schwingshackl & Hoffmann 2014). While it's clear that we still have a lot to learn about how fats behave and contribute to disease, the evidence supporting a moderate level of saturated fat consumption remains strong and consistent.
Product has been classified as having no processing concerns
EWG's Good Food On A Tight Budget
EWG's 2014 Shopper's Guide to Avoiding GE Food
Why GE Foods are not "Natural"
EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticide in Produce
Children's Cereal: Sugar by the Pound
From the Package
INGREDIENTS: PASTEURIZED MILK, SALT, CULTURES, ENZYMES, CORN STARCH & CELLULOSE.
Products remain in the database for two years after their label information is recorded in stores. A product with label information last recorded more than a year ago is marked with an * identifying it as an older product.
Products remain in the Database for two years after their label information is recorded in stores, even when they have been discontinued (products may remain in stores and pantries long past the date they cease to be manufactured). EWG marks a product it is aware has been discontinued with a banner identifying it as such.
Please note that EWG obtains the displayed images of products from third parties and that the product's manufacturer or packager may change the product's packaging at any point in time. Therefore, EWG assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of images presented.
This product contains the following ingredient(s) that may be genetically engineered or derived from GE crops: Corn Starch [read more]
Scientists have not determined whether GE food poses risks to human health. Still, consumers have many good reasons to avoid eating genetically engineered ingredients, including limited safety studies, the development of "superweeds" and increased pesticide use. For more information on the topic visit: http://www.ewg.org/research/shoppers-guide-to-avoiding-ge-foodNote: The presence or absence of genetically engineered ingredients or ingredients derived from GE crops does not affect a product's overall score.
Most cheeses don't score well because they are high in calories, saturated fat and sodium [read more]
Cheese can be a good source of calcium and protein, but a little goes a long way. Cheese usually packs in a lot of calories, saturated fat and sodium in a small amount. In fact, cheese is the number one source of saturated fat, and one of the top sources of both sodium and calories in the American diet (USDA & DHHS 2010).Antibiotics are also used often in dairy production, primarily to treat sick animals, which poses a moderate concern for breeding antibiotic resistant bacteria. Milk-boosting hormone injections (rBGH) are injected into about 20 percent of American dairy cows. Neither treatment is allowed in Europe due to public health and animal welfare concerns.
| Amount Per 1 Tbsp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| % Daily Value(based on a 2,000 calorie diet and adult bodyweight) Update the values for someone: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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† Institute of Medicine. 2010. "Dietary Reference Intakes Tables and Application." Accessed April 8, 2014: link | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
