Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Lays Stax Original ultra-processed?

5 3/4 oz, 163 g Stacked extruded potato crisps Sold in the United States

Pack of Lays Stax Original

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:

  • 13 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed stacked extruded potato 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

potatoes, vegetable oil (cottonseed vegetable oil, sunflower vegetable oil), oil, and corn oil, unmodified potato starch, rice flour, and less than 2% of the following (mono- and diglycerides), salt, sugar dextrose, and soy lecithin

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

dried potatoes, vegetable oil (cottonseed, sunflower oil, and/or corn oil), unmodified potato starch, rice flour, and less than 2% of the following: mono - and diglycerides, salt, sugar dextrose, and soy lecithin

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.

  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
3 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 48 stacked extruded potato crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 9th. 96% of the stacked extruded potato 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 48 stacked extruded potato crisps, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0028400055093, last edited 27 March 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.