Cheetos Nutri-Score E NOVA 4

Puffs

Puffs: 4/5 ingredient safety

Puffs by Cheetos has 4 tracked ingredients, with an overall safety score of 4 out of 5, in line with the 4.12/5 average across all scored products. Its Nutri-Score is E, and 1 of its ingredient carries a low safety rating.

  • Safety score in line with the 4.12/5 average across all scored products
  • NOVA processing classification: group 4

Snacks / Salty snacks / Appetizers / Biscuits and crackers / Crackers (Appetizers) / Puffed salty snacks / Cheesy-chips

How This Score Is Built

PlainIngredients safety scores are a transparent, editorially-derived index synthesizing FDA status, EU regulatory status, US state actions, and published research into a single 1-5 scale, not an official government rating. 4 of 4 ingredients tracked for Puffs have a scored rating so far. Data current as of 2026-09-07.

Sourced from Open Food Facts, FDA, and EU regulatory records. Verify with the FDA → See our full scoring methodology.

Where Puffs sits nationally

Average ingredient safety score vs. 58,710 other scored products in PlainIngredients

4 Top 80% higher than 20% of 58,710 scored products

Average ingredient safety score (1 = highest risk, 5 = safest), bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more scored products. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainIngredients ingredient safety index · 2026-09-07

4
Low Risk
Average ingredient safety: 4 out of 5
Based on 4 tracked ingredients
4
Tracked Ingredients
1
Concerning
3
Low Risk / Safe
E
Nutri-Score
1 ingredient flagged for safety concerns

Ingredient Safety Breakdown

Processing Level

4
NOVA Group 4
Ultra-processed foods

Ultra-processed products are formulations made mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods and additives. They typically contain ingredients not commonly used in home cooking.

Full Ingredients List

ENRICHED CORN MEAL (CORN MEAL. FERROUS SULFATE, NIACIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE. RIBOFLAVIN. FOLIC ACID). VEGETABLE 01L (CORN, CANOLA, AND/OR SUNFLOWER OIL), CHEESE SEASONING (WHEY, CHEDDAR CHEESE [MILK CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES], CANOLA OIL, MALTODEXTRIN [MADE FROM CORN]. NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SALT, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, LACTIC ACID, CITRIC ACID, ARTIFICIAL COLOR [YELLOW 6] AND SALT.

Compare beyond brand

Nationwide peers by additive safety & ingredient depth

Two PlainIngredients-derived comparison paths for Puffs: nearest mean mapped additive safety score and nearest mapped ingredient count among indexable products with at least 3 scored additives, excluding same-brand siblings. Scores describe regulatory and research signals on additives, not dietary advice.

Product Details

Brand
Cheetos
Barcode
0028400001342
Nutri-Score
Grade E
NOVA Group
4 — Ultra-processed foods
Available In
United States

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Frequently asked questions

How does Puffs's safety score compare to other products?

Among the 58,710 PlainIngredients products with a scored ingredient list, Puffs's 4/5 average puts it in the lower 80%, in line with the 4.12/5 average across all scored products.

What's behind the 4/5 rating on Puffs?

PlainIngredients scores each ingredient 1 (highest risk) to 5 (safest) from FDA and EU regulatory status, then averages the scores of every ingredient this product lists that we could map. A 4/5 average places Puffs in the Low Risk tier.

Every figure on PlainIngredients is rendered directly from FDA, EU, EFSA and U.S. state regulatory records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.