Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Fritos Chili Cheese Flavored Corn Chips ultra-processed?

1 oz Corn chips Sold in the United States

Pack of Fritos Chili Cheese Flavored Corn Chips

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:

  • 34 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed corn chips

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, corn oil, whey, salt, spices, maltodextrin (made from corn), cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, enzymes), canola oil, potassium chloride, tomato, monosodium glutamate, onion, natural flavors, Romano cheese (cow's milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), dextrose, buttermilk, sodium caseinate, annatto, cream, salt, citric acid, sunflower oil, garlic, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, and caramel color

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E330 Citric acid , E621 Monosodium glutamate , E627 Disodium guanylate , E631 Disodium inosinate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E150c Ammonia caramel.

As written on the pack

Corn, corn oil, whey, salt, spices, maltodextrin (made from corn), cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, enzymes), canola oil, potassium chloride, tomato powder, monosodium glutamate, onion powder, natural flavors, Romano cheese (cow's milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), dextrose, buttermilk, sodium caseinate, annatto extracts, cream, salt, citric acid, sunflower oil, garlic powder, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, and caramel color.

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.

  • E150c Ammonia caramel Ammonia caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia compounds.
  • 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.
  • E631 Disodium inosinate Disodium inosinate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.
  • 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.
4 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.
  • 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 359 corn chips

From least to most processed, this one ranks 326th. 46% of the corn chips 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 359 corn chips, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0028400040044, last edited 21 May 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.