Stax Zesty Queso Chips
Contains 2 flagged ingredients
Stax Zesty Queso Chips by Frito Lay, Lay's receives a safety score of 50/100 based on ingredient analysis using FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) data and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. The product contains 2 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.
What the Data Says About
Stax Zesty Queso Chips by Frito Lay, Lay's carries a composite safety score of 50/100, which we classify as "Concern" 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 2 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, Stax Zesty Queso Chips 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.
Safety Profile at a Glance
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| PlainFoodSafe Score | 50/100 | FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite |
| Flagged ingredients | 2 | CSPI/FDA review |
| NOVA processing group | Group 4 | OpenFoodFacts |
| Nutri-Score | Not available | OpenFoodFacts |
Composite metric derived from FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine, OpenFoodFacts. See methodology.
Ingredient Safety Analysis
Full Ingredient List
dietary fiber 1g total sugars 1g protein 2g 4% vitamin d omcg calcium 20mg iron 0.2mg potassium 180mg 0% 0% 0% 2% not a significant source of added sugars. the % daily value (dv) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. questions or comment t weekdays gm ngredients: dried potatoes, vegetable oil (cottonseed, sunflower, and or corn oil), unmodified potato starch, rice flour, and less than 2% of the following: maltodextrin (made from corn), mond - and diglycerides, dextrose, sugar, salt, whey, soy lecthin, citric acid, monosodium glutamate, natural and artificial flavor, chedar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), spices, onion powder, buttermilk sour cream (cultured cream, skim milki, horolized corn pr butter (cream, salt), sodium caseinate, artaical color (ye lake, yellow 5 lake, yellow 5, yellow 6 bue cheese imilk cultures, salt, enzymesi, yeast extract email or chat at skim milk, and garder. contains milk and redients. manufacture for: frito-lay, inc plano, tx 7504 4099 2007 frito-lay north ameriga inc made frito lay packs
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.