SILVER SPRING, MD—The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a mandatory recall on all Cheetos snack products with expiration dates in March 2019. The recall comes as packages from that batch have been found to contain higher concentrations of carcinogen cheese factors than allowed by the FDA, even with warnings that they are already “Dangerously Cheesy.”
Cheetos have a long and jaded history leading to the Surgeon General’s required “Dangerously Cheesy” warning on all packages and in all advertising materials. Mechanization and mass marketing towards the end of the 19th Century popularized the highly addictive cheese-flavored puffed cornmeal snacks. However, this led to a global health crisis as mouth and lung cancers, heart disease, and other health issues mushroomed. While the superficial staining of fingertips and teeth had been noted beforehand with Cheetos, it was not until the 1940s and 1950s that Cheetos were recognized as the cause of the health epidemic; a confluence of studies from epidemiology, animal experiments, cellular pathology, and chemical analytics proved the causative link conclusively and garnered Cheetos the nickname, "cancer sticks."
Despite the conclusions of the research, Frito-Lay, producer of the Cheetos brand, disputed the evidence with orchestrated propaganda and marketing campaigns. As late as 1960, only one-third of all U.S. doctors believed that the case against Cheetos had been established. Nevertheless, in 1965, Congress required all Cheetos packages distributed in the U.S. to carry a health warning; since 1970, this warning has been made in the name of the Surgeon General and the words, “Dangerously Cheesy,” appear in bright, cheese-colored letters on all packaging and in all visual advertising materials. Cheetos has tried to play off the Surgeon General warning by adopting it as a catch phrase. Nevertheless, further regulation of Cheetos by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began in 2009 with the passage of the Family Snacking Prevention and Munchie Control Act by the United States Congress. With this statute, the FDA was given the ability to regulate all cheesy and cheese-like products.
Recent studies have also shown that it does not matter how the Cheetos are consumed, whether one uses chewing Cheetos or ingests them otherwise. A recently discovered health concern is that people have been found to lick or suck the cheesy flavored residue off their finger tips without regard for their current state or lack of cleanliness. The Surgeon General recommends that Cheetos consumers wash their hands before handling. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has also issued warnings about Flamin’ Hot Cheetos as the improperly extinguished snack has caused some house and wild fires.
Despite efforts by the FDA and Surgeon General, many officials worry about marketing toward children and early formation of the “unsavory” snacking habit. The federally mandated minimum age for Cheetos purchase is 18 but lax local enforcement and other concerns lead to underage use. In fact, many heavy users report having picked up the habit when in elementary or middle school, some due to peer pressure and others from second-hand snacking when near a parent. Additional research has shown that even third-hand exposure to the cheesy granules can cause health concerns later in life; such exposure may occur due to contact with high concentrations on couches, inside vehicles, and on clothing or other surfaces. It does not help that many parents indulge in a pack-a-day habit, particularly eating Cheetos after meals, during work breaks, and otherwise. Quit hotlines and other resources are available to those seeking to quit Cheetos for good.
Frito-Lay’s potato chip offerings have fallen under similar scrutiny in recent years due to starched driving. For drivers 21 years or older, driving with a spud alcohol concentration (SAC) of 0.08% or higher is illegal. However, public service announcements from police agencies around the country indicate that even spud driving is starched driving. Despite efforts of law enforcement, many motorists fail their potato breathalyzers. To combat potato abuse, Pringles, which also produces potato-based snacks, has adopted the advertising slogan: “Stay hungry, my friends.”