Vegan – Does 0% Cholesterol on Nutrition Facts Mean Food Is Vegan?

Both contain protein. The amount varies by the type for cheese, although it appears to be about 20% - 35%. All dairy contains protein. There may also be milk or cream in the sauce, which would also be a contributing ingredient.

Pasta also contains protein, but less than cheese. The amount depends on the type of flour used. It will also increase if egg is used in the pasta. If you look at Barilla, their normal penne has about 7g of protein in a 56g serving, or 12.5%.

Looking at the ingredients, there appears to be a couple of different types of cheese in the pasta as well as milk and cream. They would all contribute protein.

Beef is about 29% protein. So dairy is on par or better than meat as a protein source, but pasta falls well short of it.

If an item of food is stored for a long time, the nutritional values might reduce. Other processes such as freezing, thawing and cooking will also have an effect on the nutrition. Thus the figures given on the box are correct at the time of packaging. The figures at that time might be different from when you actually get to eat the food. In the case of your macaroni, it could absorb or loose water while in storage so the % values would only be correct at the time of packaging. Thus "as packaged" is a reference to the time of packing not the packaging itself.

As to the low fat content, dried powdered foods usually are low fat as it is difficult to make the powder with fat. They will probably have used a hard, low fat cheese such as Parmesan, or a cheese flavouring, rather than Cheddar.