Avoid

STAX Sour Cream & Onion Flavored

by Lay's

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0028400055154 · Lay's · Plant-based foods and beverages. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0028400055154 · Serving size 1 chip (2.33 g)

The verdict

STAX Sour Cream & Onion Flavored by Lay's scores 25/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 38 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 3 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 38-component record, beginning with Potatoes, Vegetable Oil, Cottonseed. That density can include amounts and label fragments, so verify the physical label before relying on ingredient order or completeness. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

25/100
Avoid safety score
3
Few flagged · of 38 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
D
Nutri-Score nutrition grade

Computed directly from OpenFoodFacts ingredient data cross-referenced with FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. See our methodology for the scoring formula.

Composite profile score

One verdict from three independent sources

25/100

Grade F

Ingredient Safety

25/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

D

Nutri-Score front-of-pack nutrition grade

Weighted 50% ingredient safety / 25% processing level / 25% nutrition grade. A dimension with no data for this product (common: source coverage is partial) is dropped and its weight redistributes across the remaining dimensions, so missing data never silently lowers the score. See the full benchmark table.

00055154 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

STAX Sour Cream & Onion Flavored label screening desk

SCORE-AVOID 25/100 FLAG-FEW 3 flagged LEN-DENSE 38 ing. REG-PART 34% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-D Nutri-D RANK-SHORT Len top 3% LEAD-FLAG Blue 1 PHOTO-FINISH Fried Pork Skins, · ±0 BOOK-OFF …055154 · July 2026

13 of 38 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Blue 1). Source sheet 00055154 · Open Food Facts · July 2026. The screening score and flag counts are in the verdict band above. This desk is the provenance stamp, not a second scorecard. Methodology · Read with nearest score peer: Fried Pork Skins, Hot'N Spicy · Nearest score peer is Fried Pork Skins, Hot'N Spicy at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

How Nutri-Score, NOVA, and list length read this record

The composite for this product falls in the lowest of the four bands. That is where labels land when registry-rated components drive the greater part of the deduction from the index. The band name is drawn from the framework's own scale and is distinct from the ratings the registries themselves assign to individual substances, which are shown per component below. A single heavily rated component and several lightly rated ones can produce the same band, so the component table is the more precise reading of the two.

This label falls in the fourth Nutri-Score band. The model arrives there when its penalty terms — energy density, sugars, saturated fat, sodium — carry more weight in the calculation than the fibre, protein and produce content it credits. The band covers a wide span of the points scale, so position within it is not visible from the letter alone. The grade reflects the declared nutrition panel and is unrelated to the additive ratings listed below, which come from different bodies applying different criteria.

The declared list is among the longer ones in this catalogue. A component set this wide means the screen returns many individual ratings, and the composite accumulates a large number of small contributions instead of turning on a handful of entries. At this length the per-component table below is substantially more informative than the single figure, because the figure compresses a great deal of variation into one number.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. STAX Sour Cream & Onion Flavored: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. STAX Sour Cream & Onion F…25/1002. Fried Pork Skins, Hot'N Spicy: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Fried Pork Skins, Hot'N S…25/1003. Baked Cheddar & Sour Cream Flavored Potato Chips: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Baked Cheddar & Sour Crea…25/1004. Tortilla Chips, Poppin' Jalapeno: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Tortilla Chips, Poppin' J…25/1005. Popcorn, Flamin' Hot: 25/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Popcorn, Flamin' Hot25/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for STAX Sour Cream & Onion Flavored (25/100 on 38 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

Unit: PlainFoodSafe screening score out of 100. Data current as of July 2026.

STAX Sour Cream & Onion Flavored
25/100
Fried Pork Skins, Hot'N Spicy
25/100
Baked Cheddar & Sour Cream Flavored Potato Chips
25/100
Tortilla Chips, Poppin' Jalapeno
25/100
Popcorn, Flamin' Hot
25/100

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 88,006 products we've scored in the Snacks category, the average safety score is 86.1/100. STAX Sour Cream & Onion Flavored scores 61.1 points below that category average (25/100 vs. 86.1/100), so it is a comparatively weaker pick for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient-list length vs other Plant-based foods and beverages products

STAX Sour Cream & Onion Flavored lists 38 ingredients on its label

38 97th percentile a longer ingredient list than 97% of the 63,434 products we track

0–2: 3,907 products (6%). Below this entry. 2–4: 7,921 products (12%). Below this entry. 4–6: 8,845 products (14%). Below this entry. 6–8: 7,032 products (11%). Below this entry. 8–10: 6,320 products (10%). Below this entry. 10–12: 4,190 products (7%). Below this entry. 12–14: 3,449 products (5%). Below this entry. 14–16: 3,051 products (5%). Below this entry. 16–18: 2,493 products (4%). Below this entry. 18–20: 2,053 products (3%). Below this entry. 20–22: 1,808 products (3%). Below this entry. 22–24: 1,758 products (3%). Below this entry. 24–26: 1,623 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 1,606 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 1,360 products (2%). Below this entry. 30–32: 1,198 products (2%). Below this entry. 32–34: 1,081 products (2%). Below this entry. 34–36: 901 products (1%). Below this entry. 36–38: 649 products (1%). Below this entry. 38–40: 534 products (1%). This entry sits in this band. 40–42: 1,655 products (3%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Plant-based foods and beverages product, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more products. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Distribution as text

63,434 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 38 (97th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
3,907 products (6%)
2–4
7,921 products (12%)
4–6
8,845 products (14%)
6–8
7,032 products (11%)
8–10
6,320 products (10%)
10–12
4,190 products (7%)
12–14
3,449 products (5%)
14–16
3,051 products (5%)
16–18
2,493 products (4%)
18–20
2,053 products (3%)
20–22
1,808 products (3%)
22–24
1,758 products (3%)
24–26
1,623 products (3%)
26–28
1,606 products (3%)
28–30
1,360 products (2%)
30–32
1,198 products (2%)
32–34
1,081 products (2%)
34–36
901 products (1%)
36–38
649 products (1%)
38–40
534 products (1%)
40 and above
1,655 products (3%)

Source Open Food Facts, product label ingredient lists · July 2026

Ingredient-list length is a descriptive property of the label, not a safety rating. A longer list is not automatically worse and a shorter one is not automatically better; the count is shown so the label can be placed against a comparable population. The comparison here runs against the 63,434 Plant-based foods and beverages products we publish with a parsed label, not against the whole catalogue, because list length varies far more between categories than within one.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

How the 25/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (3 flagged of 38 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Potatoes
2
Vegetable Oil
3
Cottonseed
4
Organic Sunflower
5
Corn Oil
6
Unmodified Potato Starch
7
Rice Flour
8
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
9
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
10
Mono - And Diglycerides
11
Dextrose
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, HUMECTANT, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
Cut Back GRAS
12
Skim Milk
13
Soy Lecithin
14
Onion Powder
15
Whey
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FORMULATION AID, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
16
Msg
17
Corn Starch
18
Sour Cream
19
Cultured Cream
20
Lactose
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, OXIDIZING OR REDUCING AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Certain People Should Avoid GRAS
21
Maltodextrin
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, HUMECTANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, NUTRITIVE SWEETENER, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Safe GRAS
22
Made From Corn
23
Natural And Artificial Flavor
24
Malic Acid
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SYNERGIST
Safe GRAS
25
Citric Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, ENZYME, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SEQUESTRANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Safe GRAS
26
Cheddar Cheese
27
Milk
28
Cheese Cultures
29
Enzymes
30
Corn Syrup Solids
31
Buttermilk
32
Artificial Color
33
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
34
Blue 1
Caution Approved (certified color)
35
Red 40
Avoid Approved (certified color)
36
Disodium Inosinate
FLAVOR ENHANCER, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
Approved
37
Disodium Guanylate
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
Approved
38
Milk And Soy Ingredients

Full Ingredient List

dried potatoes, vegetable oil (cottonseed, sunflower, and/or corn oil), unmodified potato starch, rice flour, and less than 2% of the following: sugar, salt, mono - and diglycerides, dextrose, skim milk, soy lecithin, onion powder, whey, monosodium glutamate, corn starch, sour cream (cultured cream, skim milk), lactose, maltodextrin (made from corn), natural and artificial flavor, malic acid, citric acid, cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), corn syrup solids, buttermilk, artificial color (yellow 5 lake, blue 1, red 40), disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate,contains milk and soy ingredients,

Categories

Plant-based foods and beverages Plant-based foods Snacks Cereals and potatoes Salty snacks Appetizers Chips and fries Potatoes and their products Crisps Salty snacks made from potato Stacked extruded potato crisps

Lower-score cross-brand comparables for STAX Sour Cream & Onion Flavored

Neighbours outside Lay's in the same lower screening band as STAX Sour Cream & Onion Flavored (25/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Lay's; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Blue 1 is the first flagged ingredient selected from STAX Sour Cream & Onion Flavored's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 38-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Blue 1. Open Blue 1
  • Compare STAX Sour Cream & Onion Flavored's 3 flagged ingredients with a product from the same score neighbourhood. Compare labels
  • Check how caution flags contribute to the derived screening score before drawing a dietary conclusion. Read the method

This page describes published ingredient-list and source coverage. It is not dietary or medical advice.

Barcode 0028400055154: product data from Open Food Facts (July 2026). Screening from FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine where attached. Figures are computed from those sources, not editor-typed. Methodology. Reference only, not dietary or medical advice.