Hot Cheetos...These Are a Few of My Faaaavorite Things!

            For this assignment, we are required to pick one food that we enjoy eating and find out what types of ingredients are found in the product, as well as where the product comes from and how healthy it is to humans and the environment.  One food (snack, really) that I love to munch on is Hot Cheetos.  Although I do not eat this snack too often, I eat it enough to wonder about its effects on health.  I realized that I did not know what most of the ingredients were in this product or whether these ingredients were harmful to my body.  After some research, I discovered that Hot Cheetos have four main ingredients:
 

·         Enriched Corn Meal (corn meal, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, and frolic acid)

·         Vegetable Oil (corn, canola, soybean, and/or sunflower oil)

·         Flamin’ Hot Seasoning (Less than 2% of the following: maltodextrin [made from corn], salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate, yeast extract, citric acid, artificial color [red 40 lake, yellow 6 lake, yellow 6, yellow 5], partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, cheddar cheese [milk, cheese cultures, salt enzymes], onion powder, whey, whey protein concentrate, garlic powder, corn syrup solids, natural flavor, buttermilk, sodium diacetate, sodium caseinate, lactic acid, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, and skim milk)

·         Salt

http://www.fritolay.com/our-snacks/cheetos-flamin-hot.html

 

            Of course, each of these main ingredients, with the exception of salt, are composed of even smaller ingredients.  The Flamin’ Hot Seasoning is a very important part of Hot Cheetos.  As mentioned above, the Flamin’ Hot Seasoning has many components that make up the specific taste of Hot Cheetos.  For instance, artificial color is used in the seasoning.  After careful research on Frito-Lay’s website (www.fritolay.com), the company uses “plant-based or synthetic dyes to enhance the color of some of [its] snacks.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for regulating all color additives used in food manufacturing in the United States.”

            Enzymes are also used in the manufacturing of Hot Cheetos, specifically in the cheese used for making the Flamin’ Hot Seasoning.  Enzymes are added to milk during the cheese-making process to separate the solids from the liquid.  I was very happy to find that Frito-Lay cooks all of its snack chips in healthier oils such as corn, canola, sunflower, and soybean (which make up the vegetable oil used in Hot Cheetos).  These oils are lower in saturated fats and have zero grams of trans fat (www.fritolay.com).

            Hot Cheetos are made in the United States at plants throughout North America.  Frito-Lay’s main plant is located in Plano, Texas.  Frito-Lay actually has contracts with special farmers who plant and grow the potatoes and corn used in its snacks.  After the potatoes and corn are harvested, they are delivered to nearby Frito-Lay factories to be made into various snacks.  The farmers that grow the potatoes and corn that go into the snacks all operate within the United States, in various regions throughout the country (www.fritolay.com).

            A great initiative that Frito-Lay took in packaging its products, like Hot Cheetos, is that its bags are now biodegradable over time.  This means that if the bags do not find their way to trashcans or landfills, they will not hurt the environment.  In addition, Frito-Lay has implemented a partnership with TerraCycle, which is a company that recycles by turning waste into a new product.  Consumers can send in their used packaging, free of charge, to TerraCycle so the company can “upcycle” the used product into a new product, such as a clipboard, tote bag, or trashcan.  Frito-Lay will also donate $0.02 per chip bag sent in, to the school or non-profit organization of the consumer’s choice.  I am very happy that Frito-Lay has a corporate social responsibility in recycling for a greener planet.

            Based off of my research, I have concluded that although Hot Cheetos are not the healthiest snack to munch on every day, the chips are actually healthier than I had originally anticipated.  The healthier oils and fresh products used in manufacturing Hot Cheetos make the product a healthy choice if eaten in small quantities.  Of course, a balanced diet is necessary to maintain healthy living.  At least I know I can eat one of my favorite foods with a clear conscious, knowing it is a snack that is okay for me to eat!