Do Hot Cheetos Contain Pork? (2024)

The flaming hot flavor of crispy, cheesy corn treats Hot Cheetos has been Cheetos’s most loveable and favorite flavor. People of all ages like these snacks, be it kids or adults, and all that attributes to the perfect combination of hot and cheesy flavors.

Being this famous, the brand has faced s o many controversies over time. Well! Criticism always comes with being famous.

One of the most significant controversies that earned lots of audiences is That Hot Cheetos contains Pork.

Yes, you read it right! And if the thought is already grossing you that you have already enjoyed tons of Hot Cheetos, then relax! There is no truth behind the allegations of Hot Cheetos containing Pork.

Stay tuned and read the post until the end for complete information about this topic. By the end, you will surely know profound answers to all your queries related to Hot Cheetos.

Why Would Someone Try to Know Is There Any Pork in Hot Cheetos?

You might be wondering why someone would be so concerned about their snack having pork even if it is not visible in the serving or they can’t even taste it. Most of the public has only one criterion for liking a food: good taste. But for some, it is crucial to know the tiny details of their food’s ingredients.

Basically, two types of people need to know the facts behind their food. Followers of certain religions like Islam as their religion strictly prohibit pork consumption directly or indirectly. Others have dietary restrictions like sticking to a vegan lifestyle. In both cases, even if not physically visible, consuming pork goes against a person’s beliefs and ideology. Hence making it essential for them to know what they are eating.

How Can Snacks and Chips Contain Pork?

Do you ever wonder how many innocuous-looking foods abruptly contain animal products? The product present in them is basically cheese. More precisely, it’s an enzyme called rennet, used in preparing cheeses.

These enzymes are gathered from the stomach of suckling cattle (calf, sheep, or pig). This means that cheeses that are made using animal rennet are not vegetarian. And are a point of concern for people consuming the particular snack if they are vegan or are religiously obligated.

However, there is an alternative! Suppose the food contains rennet harvested by fungi and which is considered vegetarian. In that case, the food is safe to be consumed by both types of people mentioned above.

What Does Hot Cheetos Contain? Is There Any Pork Hidden?

Most top food companies keep their recipes and ingredients under privacy and don’t publish them. The reason for keeping the recipe a secret is to prevent their competitors from copying and manufacturing the same tasting product, which will bring the market down for them. This is a common practice and is also acceptable under federal law.

But then how would we know what we are eating. For monitoring ingredients and public awareness, all food production companies are bound to mention the ingredients on the packet’s label. This makes it relatively easy to find out what is in your food.

Let’s go through what Hot Cheetos contains actually,

So, let us look at the ingredients list for Cheetos Hot flavor and see if there is anything directly or indirectly related to pork hidden in there:

• Corn Meal
• Vegetable Oil (obtained from a vegan source)
• Flamin’ Hot Seasoning is made of: Maltodextrin (Made from Corn), Salt, Sugar, Monosodium Glutamate, Yeast Extract, Citric Acid, Artificial Color, Sunflower Oil, Cheddar Cheese, Onion Powder, Whey, Whey Protein, Garlic Powder, Natural Flavor, Buttermilk, Sodium Diacetate, Disodium Inosinate, and Disodium Guanylate.

By looking into this list, we can infer that there are no animal products in the “natural flavor” ingredient. But is there any ingredient on this list that might contain any hidden pork or derivative?

Yes, there is—the cheddar cheese in the flavoring! This might contain rennet obtained from a pig. But it’s not so. The Cheetos manufacturer openly claims that the rennet present in Cheetos is from non-porcine sources.

Is Hot Cheetos Vegetarian?

The fact that Hot Cheetos do not contain pork enzymes does not prove them to be vegetarian.

The list of ingredients mentioned above complies with the vegan diet except for the cheese mentioned. As we already stated, cheese contains no Pig-based rennet but has rennet obtained by other cattle. And this point casts Hot Cheetos out of the genre of vegan food.

Is Hot Cheetos Halal?

Halal food items are those that a Muslim can consume. An animal specifically halal or open for a Muslim to consume should be slaughtered following a definite protocol.

Although Hot Cheetos does not contain any pig-based enzyme, its being halal is a big question mark. Suppose the animals used for obtaining the rennet were halal and still were not slaughtered according to the set of protocols. In that case, the snack is unfit for consumption by a Muslim.

Which Cheetos Are Vegetarian and Halal?

Apart from Hot Cheetos, there are several other flavors, most of which are loved by many. Sadly, there aren’t yet any Cheetos varieties confirmed to be vegan or halal certified.

Similarly, there are no vegan or vegetarian Cheetos either due to animal obtained rennet. However, in some Muslim countries, Halal cheese that has rennet derived from halal animals sold is safe to be consumed. But no Cheetos is rennet free making it unfit for consumption of vegetarians.

Conclusion

After looking into all these facts and logical explanations, we can infer that Hot Cheetos does not have pork. To be precise, it doesn’t have any pig-based enzyme. The snacks are free from porcine enzymes, but that alone does not make them suitable for consumption by people with strict dietary restrictions.

People who are vegan or have a particular religious ideology that restrains them from the consumption of animals still can’t enjoy the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. All vegetarians can do is wait for the company to realize and introduce Flamin’ Hot Cheetos with plant-based alternatives.

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