How Flaming Hot Cheetos Snuck Into The Approved List Of Healthy School Snacks

Smart Snacks in schools were supposed to create healthier options in vending machines for kids to choose from, so you wouldn’t think a single Cheeto would be found on any campus, but Frito Lay is taking advantage of a loophole.

According to NPR, there are specific nutrition guidelines that eliminated certain foods such as cookies, chips, candy and soda from  from school vending machines, so healthier options such as peanuts, fruit cups and zero-calorie flavored water could take over. Frito Lay was not about to get punked though, so they switched up the formula in their Flaming Hot Cheetos, reducing the fat, salt, and adding enough whole grains to meet the new government guidelines.

So while kids aren’t exactly eating the same Hot Cheetos they’re used to, they’re still essentially Hot Cheetos and they’re the highest selling snacks in schools.

Obviously this wasn’t what legislators had in mind when creating these guidelines, but they’re happy that companies like Frito Lay are at least paying enough attention to try and make healthier versions of their food.

“… One of the things we were absolutely expecting and appreciate is that the food companies would look at these recommendations and they would, in fact, reformulate their products.”

Pop Tarts are another item that have found their way into school vending machines, so all these guidelines are doing is forcing processed foods to change their formulas enough to keep them in circulation.

Surely, more guidelines for healthier food options will come up in the future, but for now, red Cheeto fingers are still being stamped on homework.

h/t Thrillist, picthx Jose Ortega