LAY'S® STAX® Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins

by Lay's

0
Avoid
Safety Score (out of 100)

Contains 8 flagged ingredients

LAY'S® STAX® Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins by Lay's receives a safety score of 0/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. The product contains 8 ingredients that have been flagged for potential safety concerns by regulatory or consumer advocacy databases. Product label data is sourced from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative database. See the full ingredient breakdown and safety assessment below.

Barcode
0028400092500
Nutri-Score
d
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed
Serving Size
28 g

What the Data Says About

LAY'S® STAX® Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins by Lay's carries a composite safety score of 0/100, which we classify as "Avoid" on our four-tier shelf-label framework. The score is computed by mapping each labeled ingredient against FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) regulatory status and CSPI Chemical Cuisine classifications, then penalizing the overall product for each additive rated as caution-or-worse. Product data originates from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative catalog; safety annotations come from federal regulators and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Our scan identified 8 flagged ingredients in this product — components that at least one official source has classified as requiring caution, targeted avoidance, or further evaluation. Flagged ingredients are the items most likely to surface in FDA inspection findings, state-level ingredient bans, or outbreak-related recall notices, so the per-ingredient breakdown below is the most useful lens for anyone screening this product for a specific dietary concern.

On the NOVA processing scale, LAY'S® STAX® Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins is classified as Group 4 (Ultra-processed). NOVA measures industrial processing intensity rather than ingredient-level safety, so it complements the SAFFA and CSPI ratings: a product can be clean on additive flags but heavily processed, or lightly processed but carry individually flagged ingredients. Combining both lenses gives a fuller picture than either alone. The Nutri-Score grade of D reflects nutritional balance — calories, saturated fat, sugar, sodium versus fiber, protein, and produce content — which again is a distinct dimension from additive safety and worth weighing alongside the scores above.

Safety Profile at a Glance

Composite safety metrics for LAY'S® STAX® Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 0/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 8 CSPI/FDA review
NOVA processing group Group 4 OpenFoodFacts
Nutri-Score D OpenFoodFacts

Composite metric derived from FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine, OpenFoodFacts. See methodology.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

1
Potatoes
2
Vegetable Oil
3
Corn
4
Sunflower Oil
5
Potato Starch
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, LUBRICANT OR RELEASE AGENT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
6
Rice Flour
7
And Less Than 2% Of The Following: Sugar
8
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
9
Made From Corn
10
Mono - And Diglycerides
11
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
12
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
13
Soy Lecithin
14
Cheddar Cheese
15
Milk
16
Cheese Cultures
17
Enzymes
18
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
19
Onion Powder
20
Msg
21
Whey Protein Concentrate
FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
22
Corn Starch
23
Natural Flavors
24
Including Sesame
25
Buttermilk
26
Canola Oil
27
Romano Cheese
28
Part-skim Cow's Milk
29
Hydrolyzed Corn Protein
30
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
31
Artificial Color
32
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
33
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
34
Yellow 5
Avoid Approved (certified color)
35
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
36
Red 40
Avoid Approved (certified color)
37
Blue 1
Caution Approved (certified color)
38
Blue 1
Caution Approved (certified color)
39
Red 40
Avoid Approved (certified color)
40
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
41
Skim Milk
42
Garlic Powder
43
Sour Cream
44
Cultured Cream
45
Butter
46
Cream
47
Blue Cheese
48
Whole Milk
49
And Bacon Fat

Full Ingredient List

DRIED POTATOES, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN AND/OR SUNFLOWER OIL), POTATO STARCH, RICE FLOUR, AND LESS THAN 2% OF THE FOLLOWING: SUGAR, MALTODEXTRIN (MADE FROM CORN), MONO - AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT, DEXTROSE, SOY LECITHIN, CHEDDAR CHEESE (MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), WHEY, ONION POWDER, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CORN STARCH, NATURAL FLAVORS (INCLUDING SESAME), BUTTERMILK, CANOLA OIL, ROMANO CHEESE (PART-SKIM COW'S MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), HYDROLYZED CORN PROTEIN, CITRIC ACID, ARTIFICIAL COLOR (YELLOW 5 LAKE, YELLOW 6, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6 LAKE, RED 40 LAKE, BLUE 1 LAKE, BLUE 1, RED 40), LACTIC ACID, SKIM MILK, GARLIC POWDER, SOUR CREAM (CULTURED CREAM, SKIM MILK), BUTTER (CREAM, SALT), BLUE CHEESE (WHOLE MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), AND BACON FAT.

Categories

Plant-based foods and beverages Plant-based foods Snacks Cereals and potatoes Salty snacks Appetizers Chips and fries Crisps Potato crisps Flavoured potato crisps

Data Sources

Data as of 2025. Source: OpenFoodFacts, FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine.

Product data from OpenFoodFacts (ODbL). Ingredient safety ratings from FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine. See our methodology for details.

This information is for reference only and does not constitute dietary or medical advice.

Related

Data sourced from official FDA, USDA, and CDC food-safety databases. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFoodSafe Editorial