Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Cheetos Cheddar Jalapeño Crunchy ultra-processed?

8.5 oz / 240.9 g Crisps Sold in the United States

Pack of Cheetos Cheddar Jalapeño Crunchy

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 54 ingredients
  • 10 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed crisps

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, and Sunflower Oil), Cheddar Jalapeno Seasoning (Whey, Maltodextrin (Made From Corn), Salt, Canola Oil, Buttermilk, Romano Cheese (Cow's Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Monosodium Glutamate, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Onion, Sugar, Corn Starch, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Modified Corn Starch, Dextrose, Spices, Lactose, Jalapeno Pepper, Garlic, Sodium Caseinate, Artificial Color (Yellow 6), Yellow 5, Blue 1, Red 40, Skim Milk, Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Sunflower Oil, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate), and Salt, ingredients

Additives: E102 Tartrazine , E110 Sunset yellow FCF , E129 Allura red , E133 Brilliant blue FCF , E270 Lactic acid , E296 Malic acid , E330 Citric acid , E621 Monosodium glutamate , E627 Disodium guanylate , E631 Disodium inosinate

As written on the pack

Enriched Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, and/or Sunflower Oil), Cheddar Jalapeno Seasoning (Whey, Maltodextrin [Made From Corn], Salt, Canola Oil, Buttermilk, Romano Cheese [Cow's Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Monosodium Glutamate, Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Onion Powder, Sugar, Corn Starch, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Modified Corn Starch, Dextrose, Spices, Lactose, Jalapeno Pepper, Garlic Powder, Sodium Caseinate, Artificial Color [Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Red 40]. Skim Milk, Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Sunflower Oil, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate), and Salt. CONTAINS MILK INGREDIENTS.

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • E102 Tartrazine Tartrazine is a synthetic yellow azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 5 in the US).
  • E110 Sunset yellow FCF Sunset yellow FCF is a synthetic orange azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 6 in the US).
  • E129 Allura red Allura red AC is a synthetic red azo dye (FD&C Red No. 40 in the US).
  • E133 Brilliant blue FCF Brilliant blue FCF is a synthetic blue dye, listed in the US as FD&C Blue No. 1.
  • E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
  • E627 Disodium guanylate Disodium guanylate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
Show 4 more
  • E631 Disodium inosinate Disodium inosinate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
6 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,471 crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1468th. 64% of the crisps here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 1,471 crisps, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0028400589888, last edited 1 July 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.