Concern

Hot Cheetos

by Fritolay

Open Food Facts label for barcode 0028400747721 · Fritolay. Screening numbers and flags live in the verdict band below. This hero only situates the source record.

Barcode 0028400747721 · Serving size 1 portion (28 g)

The verdict

Hot Cheetos by Fritolay scores 50/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 46 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 2 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 46-component record, beginning with Dv, Enriched Corn Meal, Corn Meal. 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.

50/100
Concern safety score
2
Few flagged · of 46 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
0028400747721
Barcode (UPC/EAN)

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

37/100

Grade F

Ingredient Safety

50/100

FDA/CSPI flagged-ingredient screening

Processing Level

NOVA 4

Ultra-processed foods

Nutrition Grade

N/A

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.

00747721 · Open Food Facts · July 2026

Hot Cheetos label screening desk

SCORE-CONC 50/100 FLAG-FEW 2 flagged LEN-DENSE 46 ing. REG-SPARSE 28% reg. NOVA-G4 G4 ultra NUTRI-UNK Nutri n/a RANK-SHORT Len top 4% LEAD-FLAG Yellow 6 PHOTO-FINISH Dinamita Xxtra Flamin’ · ±0 BOOK-OFF …747721 · July 2026

13 of 46 parsed ingredients carry FDA SAFFA or CSPI coverage (lead: Yellow 6). Source sheet 00747721 · 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: Dinamita Xxtra Flamin’ Hot · Nearest score peer is Dinamita Xxtra Flamin’ Hot at the same screening score.

Screening model notes

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

This label lands in the third of four positions on the published scale. What separates that position from its neighbours is arithmetic rather than judgement: identical inputs run through the documented weighting always arrive at the same place. Anyone who works the calculation through by hand, using the methodology write-up together with the itemised ratings further down, will reproduce this number exactly — which is the reason for publishing a computed figure instead of an opinion.

No Nutri-Score grade is present for this record in the OpenFoodFacts snapshot this page is built from. The nutritional dimension is absent rather than assessed and withheld: the grade depends on a complete declared nutrition panel, and community-contributed records vary in how much of that panel they carry. Nothing about the missing grade implies anything either way about the panel itself. The screen below covers additive ratings only and does not depend on the nutrition figures.

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. Hot Cheetos: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #11. Hot Cheetos50/1002. Dinamita Xxtra Flamin’ Hot: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #22. Dinamita Xxtra Flamin’ Hot50/1003. Flamin' Hot Limón Crunchy: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #33. Flamin' Hot Limón Crunchy50/1004. Chesters ranch fries: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #44. Chesters ranch fries50/1005. Flamin Hot Dill Pickle Flavored Crunchy: 50/100 · 100% of the leader · rank #55. Flamin Hot Dill Pickle Fl…50/100
Nearest cross-brand screening scores for Hot Cheetos (50/100 on 46 parsed ingredients).
Chart values as text

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

Hot Cheetos
50/100
Dinamita Xxtra Flamin’ Hot
50/100
Flamin' Hot Limón Crunchy
50/100
Chesters ranch fries
50/100
Flamin Hot Dill Pickle Flavored Crunchy
50/100

Ingredient-list length vs every product we publish

Hot Cheetos lists 46 ingredients on its label

46 96th percentile a longer ingredient list than 96% of the 359,392 products we track

0–2: 6,050 products (2%). Below this entry. 2–4: 24,522 products (7%). Below this entry. 4–6: 31,054 products (9%). Below this entry. 6–8: 30,981 products (9%). Below this entry. 8–10: 31,618 products (9%). Below this entry. 10–12: 29,943 products (8%). Below this entry. 12–14: 28,403 products (8%). Below this entry. 14–16: 27,417 products (8%). Below this entry. 16–18: 24,508 products (7%). Below this entry. 18–20: 19,062 products (5%). Below this entry. 20–22: 14,679 products (4%). Below this entry. 22–24: 12,238 products (3%). Below this entry. 24–26: 10,830 products (3%). Below this entry. 26–28: 9,344 products (3%). Below this entry. 28–30: 7,955 products (2%). Below this entry. 30–32: 6,753 products (2%). Below this entry. 32–34: 5,918 products (2%). Below this entry. 34–36: 5,282 products (1%). Below this entry. 36–38: 4,531 products (1%). Below this entry. 38–40: 4,063 products (1%). Below this entry. 40–42: 24,241 products (7%). This entry sits in this band. This product 0 42 every published 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

359,392 products, bucketed in bands of 2. This entry: 46 (96th percentile). Data current as of July 2026.

0–2
6,050 products (2%)
2–4
24,522 products (7%)
4–6
31,054 products (9%)
6–8
30,981 products (9%)
8–10
31,618 products (9%)
10–12
29,943 products (8%)
12–14
28,403 products (8%)
14–16
27,417 products (8%)
16–18
24,508 products (7%)
18–20
19,062 products (5%)
20–22
14,679 products (4%)
22–24
12,238 products (3%)
24–26
10,830 products (3%)
26–28
9,344 products (3%)
28–30
7,955 products (2%)
30–32
6,753 products (2%)
32–34
5,918 products (2%)
34–36
5,282 products (1%)
36–38
4,531 products (1%)
38–40
4,063 products (1%)
40 and above
24,241 products (7%)

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. No category with enough published products was available for this record, so the comparison runs against the whole published catalogue.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

How the 50/100 score is built

Screening starts at 100 and subtracts severity-weighted FDA SAFFA / CSPI flags (2 flagged of 46 labeled). The floor is 0 when deductions exceed 100.

1
Dv
2
Enriched Corn Meal
3
Corn Meal
4
Ferrous Sulfate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
5
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
6
Thiamin Mononitrate
7
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
8
Folic Acd
9
Vegetable Oil
10
Corn
11
Canola
12
Sunflower Oil
13
Less Than 2% Of Salt
14
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
15
Made Rom Corn
16
Cheddar Cheese
17
Milk
18
Chees Cultures
19
Sal Enzymes
20
Potassium Salt
21
Tomato Powde Flavors
22
Onion Powder
23
Buttermilk
24
Artific 40 Lake
25
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
26
Yellow 6
Avoid Approved (certified color)
27
Cheese
28
Cow's Milk
29
Cheese Cultures
30
Sa Protein Concentrate
31
Monosodium Gl Powder
32
Sodium Caseinate
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, FORMULATION AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
33
Corn Syrup Solids
34
Yeast Extract
35
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
36
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
37
Sugar
Sweetener
Cut Back
38
Skim Milk
39
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
40
Disodium Inosinate
FLAVOR ENHANCER, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
Approved
41
Disodium Guanylate
FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT
Approved
42
Milk Ingredients. Frito-lay
43
Natural Or
44
Red Ow Hu No Ts
45
Whey Ric ⓡ ©20 Plano
46
Tx 75024-4000 Fritolay

Full Ingredient List

stal protein 2g vitamin d omcg calcium 10mg 0.5mg iren potassium 30mg not a 0% 0% 2% 0% significant source of added sugars. calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 the % daily value (dv) tells you how much a nutrient rements: enriched corn meal (corn meal, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acd, vegetable oil (corn, canola, and/or sunflower oil), and less than 2% of salt, maltodextrin (made rom corn), cheddar cheese (milk, chees cultures, sal enzymes), potassium salt, tomato powde flavors, onion powder, buttermilk, artific 40 lake, yellow 6 lake, yellow 6, cheese (cow's milk, cheese cultures, sa protein concentrate, monosodium gl powder, sodium caseinate, corn syrup solids, yeast extract, lactose, lactic acid, sugar, skim milk, citric acid, disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate. contains milk ingredients. frito-lay, inc. ey, natural or (red ow hu no ts), whey ric ⓡ ©20 plano, tx 75024-4000 fritolay

Mid-score cross-brand comparables for Hot Cheetos

Neighbours outside Fritolay near Hot Cheetos's mid-band score (50/100). 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 Hot Cheetos's parsed label. Start with that ingredient’s source context, then compare the rest of this 46-ingredient record.

  • Inspect the FDA SAFFA and CSPI context attached to Yellow 6. Open Yellow 6
  • Compare Hot Cheetos's 2 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 0028400747721: 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.