CR’s experts calculated recommended limits for snack-aisle staples from Cheetos, Jell-O, Hostess, and other popular brands
Over a third of the products we tested contained more additives or contaminants in a single serving than the amount our food safety experts say is safe to consume daily.
By Paris Martineau
Takis Fuego. Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies. Gushers. Grape Kool-Aid. These are among the products that, according to a new investigation from Consumer Reports and Yuka, contained more additives or contaminants in a single serving than the amount some public health agencies have identified as safe to consume daily over a lifetime.
We analyzed over 120 samples of 40 popular processed foods to determine the average amount of eight additives and two contaminants present across multiple lots. Substances in both categories have been linked to harmful health effects at certain levels of exposure. But companies in the U.S. are not required to disclose the specific amounts present in their products.
So a team of scientists compared the levels of additives and contaminants detected with key safety thresholds, including safe daily intake levels set by U.S. and European public health agencies, and adverse effect levels identified in peer-reviewed scientific studies.
CR’s scientists then calculated a “hazard quotient,” or the level below which no adverse health effects would be expected to occur, for each of the 10 substances, taking into account a lifetime of exposure.
In all, 11 products exceeded this level of concern for adults, and 14 for children. “Our findings support the notion that ultraprocessed foods should not be part of a regular diet and should only be consumed occasionally, if at all,” says Eric Boring, PhD, the CR chemist who oversaw this testing project.
Boring and the other scientists on CR’s testing team also calculated recommended consumption limits for all of the products that exceeded our level of concern. Some are okay to have a few times a week but not every day, while others should be limited to at most a few servings a month, he says. Some limits vary by age.
The limits are designed to help frequent consumers reduce their exposure to the eight additives and two contaminants we analyzed, and should not be conflated with nutritional guidance. The limit for the Hostess Donettes Mini Powdered Donuts—one serving per month—for example, does not imply that eating them within that guideline is nutritionally advisable. It means only that doing so will keep your exposure to glycidyl esters and titanium dioxide within the levels CR’s experts consider acceptable over the long term.
It’s also important to understand that these limits are based on manufacturer-defined serving sizes, which vary dramatically from company to company and might not reflect typical portions. For instance, a serving of Takis Fuego is only about 12 chips, or 1 ounce—less than some mini and snack-sized bags—and a serving of Kool-Aid Grape Liquid Drink Mix is half a teaspoon, or about 1/19 of the small squeezable bottle.
The limits above are derived from CR’s calculations of how much of a given additive or contaminant someone would be exposed to if they consumed one serving daily. We then divided this number by the corresponding safety threshold—how much you can safely have per day—using standard body weight assumptions for adults and children where applicable. (For more information on these calculations, see our methodology.)
We grouped the recommendations into categories based on the number of servings per week allowed, and generally rounded down to the nearest half-serving in our calculations. For products where the recommended limit was equal to or less than one serving per week, we scaled our recommendations up to a month. For these calculations, we assumed a month was four weeks (28 days).
We could not calculate specific recommended consumption limits for some of the products containing titanium dioxide because the European Food Safety Authority was unable to determine a safe level of exposure based on its potential to damage DNA. The limit for the Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies was calculated using the other substance of concern present in the product, glycidyl esters. For the Hostess Donettes Powdered Mini Donuts, we first calculated the recommended serving limit using the glycidyl esters present in the product—1.49 servings per month—then rounded down to account for the amount of titanium dioxide it contained. (A single serving of the Donettes contained 261 mg of titanium dioxide—over 760 times more than the other three products we tested combined.) Because titanium dioxide was the only substance of concern in the Pure Protein and Amos products, we were unable to calculate specific weekly consumption limits. However, CR’s scientists cautioned against consuming either product daily.
While the limits above can help consumers change their behavior, public health advocates say the focus should be on changing the broader system. “The best way to protect people is to not put the burden on them to make the choice, but to set up a healthy food environment where they’re not exposed to the problems in the first place,” says Jim Krieger, MD, MPH, executive director of Healthy Food America, a nonprofit organization that advocates easier access to nutritious food.
Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2026, Consumer Reports, Inc.