Lay's Barbecue Flavored Potato Chips — DUMP

Name: Lay's Barbecue Flavored Potato Chips
Brand: Lay's

Munch or Dump rates Lay's Barbecue Flavored Potato Chips by Lay's DUMP — score 20/90.

Fried potato chips built on a refined-oil + sugar + starch base with a stacked seasoning of maltodextrin, caramel color, yeast extract and natural flavors. This is a NOVA-4 ultra-processed snack engineered for craving, not nutrition.

Why this verdict

Hyper-palatable triad: refined seed oil + sugar/dextrose + refined starch
Maltodextrin spikes blood sugar harder than table sugar
Caramel color is a cosmetic industrial additive with no nutritional value
Yeast extract adds free glutamates to drive overeating
~19 ingredients, NOVA-4 ultra-processed

Ingredients (19)

potatoes (safe) — Whole-food starch and the traditional body of chowder.
Vegetable Oil (canola, corn, soybean, and/or sunflower) (moderate) — Refined seed oils, high in omega-6 and the main source of calories in fried chips.
Sugar (concerning) — Added refined sugar, listed high - spikes blood sugar with no nutrition.
Salt (moderate) — Added sodium for flavour.
Dextrose (concerning) — A second added sugar (pure glucose) that hits the bloodstream even faster than sucrose.
Maltodextrin (from corn) (concerning) — Ultra-refined starch with a glycemic index higher than table sugar; a hallmark of ultra-processing.
molasses (moderate) — Another form of sugar, used for color and flavor; trace minerals don't offset that.
torula yeast (concerning) — Third umami booster; together with the above this is an engineered savory stack.
Natural Flavors (moderate) — Undisclosed flavor blend that does the heavy lifting where real acai/blueberry/pomegranate would be.
ONION POWDER (safe) — Dried aromatic seasoning.
Spices (safe) — Seasoning blend; negligible quantity, no concern.
Tomato Powder (moderate) — Reconstituted tomato paste with anticaking agent for masala flavor
Paprika (safe) — Ground pepper for color and mild flavor.
Corn Starch (moderate) — Pure refined starch for texture; empty carbohydrate.
Paprika Extracts (safe) — Natural color/flavor extract.
caramel color (moderate) — Artificial-adjacent coloring used purely for cosmetic browning.
YEAST EXTRACT (moderate) — A second glutamate-rich flavor enhancer — stacking two of these engineers an intense umami hit.
GARLIC POWDER (safe) — Dried aromatic; fine.
Mustard Seed Oil (safe) — Minor flavoring oil.