Stacy's Sea Salt Pita Chips — OKAY

Munch or Dump rates Stacy's Sea Salt Pita Chips by Stacy's OKAY — score 60/90.

Baked, short and recognizable ingredient list, but the base is refined enriched wheat flour with a little added sugar and oil, so it's fine as a snack, not a health food.

Why this verdict

• Refined enriched wheat flour is the #1 ingredient, ahead of whole wheat
• Baked not fried, and no artificial colors or flavors
• Short, recognizable list with no emulsifiers, maltodextrin, or modified starch
• Small amount of added cane sugar plus refined oil keeps it from being clean
• Sea salt only for seasoning, sodium is moderate

Ingredients (10)

• Enriched wheat flour (moderate) — Refined white flour with synthetic vitamins added back; digests fast and spikes blood sugar, the dominant ingredient here.
• Sunflower oil and/or canola oil (moderate) — Refined seed oil; fine in small amounts but it's a processed fat, not a whole-food one.
• Sea Salt (safe) — Standard seasoning in small amounts.
• WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR (safe) — Actual whole grain with fiber, but it ranks below the refined flour so it's the minority.
• organic cane sugar (moderate) — Added sugar at under 2%; small but it's still refined sweetener in a savory snack.
• Oat Fiber (safe) — Isolated fiber; harmless and adds a little bulk.
• yeast (safe) — Used in the breadcrumb; benign.
• Malted Barley Flour (safe) — Traditional flavour/enzyme source, contains gluten.
• ascorbic acid (safe) — Vitamin C used as an antioxidant/dough conditioner; harmless.
• Rosemary Extract (safe) — Natural antioxidant to keep the oil from going rancid.