Caution

Cheetos popcorn

by Fritolay

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0028400322546 · Fritolay · Snacks. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0028400322546 · Serving size 28g

The verdict

Cheetos popcorn by Fritolay scores 75/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 28 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 1 ingredient is flagged for caution. The 28-component label is layered, beginning with Popcorn, Vegetable Oil, Corn. Start with any flagged rows, then check the nutrition grade and serving size instead of treating one roll-up score as the whole decision. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

75/100
Caution safety score
1
One flagged · of 28 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
B
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

60/100

Grade C+

Ingredient Safety

75/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

B

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.

00322546 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Cheetos popcorn label screening desk

SCORE-CAUT 75/100 FLAG-ONE 1 flagged LEN-LAYERED 28 ing. REG-SPARSE 29% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-B Nutri-B RANK-MID Len top 22% LEAD-FLAG Yellow 6 PHOTO-FINISH Ruffles Cheddar & · ±0 BOOK-OFF …322546 · July 2026

8 of 28 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Yellow 6). Source sheet 00322546 · 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: Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream · Nearest score peer is Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream 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 second band of the four-tier framework. That band collects labels whose registry-rated components pull the derived score down measurably without dominating it. Position inside a band is not visible from the band name, and two labels sharing it can differ in how many components were rated and how severely. This is a threshold on an index computed here from public data, not a regulatory classification of any kind; the exact cut-offs are published on the methodology page.

The Nutri-Score algorithm returned its second band for this label. That grade typically describes a nutrition panel whose favourable components register clearly in the model without fully offsetting its energy or sodium terms. Because the calculation is a single points balance rather than a set of independent thresholds, a strong fibre or protein figure can lift a panel into this band even where one penalised nutrient sits high. The grade summarises the declared panel alone and carries no information about the additive ratings screened below.

This label parsed into a long component list. Where many entries are screened at once, the composite tends to reflect the overall mix of registry ratings returned rather than the rating of any one entry. Longer declarations also carry more sub-listed and compound entries, where a parenthetical group is resolved into its parts, so the parsed count can exceed what a reader counts on the packaging.

Cross-brand screening score neighbourhood

1. Cheetos popcorn: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Cheetos popcorn75/1002. Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cr…75/1003. Cheetos: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Cheetos75/1004. Cheetos Popcorn Cheddar Flavored: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Cheetos Popcorn Cheddar F…75/1005. Cheetos Popcorn Cheddar: 75/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Cheetos Popcorn Cheddar75/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Cheetos popcorn (75/100 on 28 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

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

Cheetos popcorn
75/100
Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream
75/100
Cheetos
75/100
Cheetos Popcorn Cheddar Flavored
75/100
Cheetos Popcorn Cheddar
75/100

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. Cheetos popcorn scores 11.1 points below that category average (75/100 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 Snacks products

Cheetos popcorn lists 28 ingredients on its label

28 78th percentile a longer ingredient list than 78% of the 81,477 products we track

0–2: 275 products (0%). Below this entry. 2–4: 2,901 products (4%). Below this entry. 4–6: 4,248 products (5%). Below this entry. 6–8: 5,408 products (7%). Below this entry. 8–10: 5,486 products (7%). Below this entry. 10–12: 5,840 products (7%). Below this entry. 12–14: 6,252 products (8%). Below this entry. 14–16: 6,724 products (8%). Below this entry. 16–18: 6,221 products (8%). Below this entry. 18–20: 5,168 products (6%). Below this entry. 20–22: 4,508 products (6%). Below this entry. 22–24: 3,809 products (5%). Below this entry. 24–26: 3,567 products (4%). Below this entry. 26–28: 2,829 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 2,282 products (3%). This entry sits in this band. 30–32: 1,905 products (2%). Above this entry. 32–34: 1,715 products (2%). Above this entry. 34–36: 1,572 products (2%). Above this entry. 36–38: 1,417 products (2%). Above this entry. 38–40: 1,284 products (2%). Above this entry. 40–42: 8,066 products (10%). Above this entry. This product 0 42 every published Snacks 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

81,477 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 28 (78th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
275 products (0%)
2–4
2,901 products (4%)
4–6
4,248 products (5%)
6–8
5,408 products (7%)
8–10
5,486 products (7%)
10–12
5,840 products (7%)
12–14
6,252 products (8%)
14–16
6,724 products (8%)
16–18
6,221 products (8%)
18–20
5,168 products (6%)
20–22
4,508 products (6%)
22–24
3,809 products (5%)
24–26
3,567 products (4%)
26–28
2,829 products (3%)
28–30
2,282 products (3%)
30–32
1,905 products (2%)
32–34
1,715 products (2%)
34–36
1,572 products (2%)
36–38
1,417 products (2%)
38–40
1,284 products (2%)
40 and above
8,066 products (10%)

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 81,477 Snacks 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 75/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (1 flagged of 28 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

Full Ingredient List

popcorn, vegetable oil (corn, canola and/or sunflower oil), cheese seasoning (whey, cheddar cheese [milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes], canola oil, maltodextrin [made from corn], natural and artificial flavors, salt, whey protein concentrate, monosodium glutamate, lactic acid, citric acid, and artificial color [yellow 6]), and salt, contains milk ingredients, frito-lay, inc, plano, tx 75024-4099 © 2019 frito-lay north america, inc, frito lay 28400 32254 lap nf-chee-7e

Other products containing Tx 75024-4099 © 2019 Frito-lay North America

Tx 75024-4099 © 2019 Frito-lay North America is the least common ingredient on this label, appearing in 7 products across the catalog. See its safety profile.

Categories

Snacks Salty snacks Appetizers

Mid-score cross-brand comparables for Cheetos popcorn

Neighbours outside Fritolay near Cheetos popcorn's mid-band score (75/100). The 5 same-brand links above stay within Fritolay; these peers cross brands.

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Follow the flagged-label evidence

Yellow 6 is the first flagged ingredient selected from Cheetos popcorn's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 28-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Yellow 6. Open Yellow 6
  • Compare Cheetos popcorn's 1 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 0028400322546: 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.