Takis Fuego

One serving carries about 10 times California's Prop 65 no-significant-risk level for acrylamide (0.2 mcg per day) — Consumer Reports' own threshold flags anything over that level at a serving a day. Context matters: every fried or baked starchy snack forms acrylamide, and among the nine chips and crackers CR tested Takis sat mid-pack (Lay's Classic measured 263 ppb, Doritos 53 ppb). The EU's manufacturing benchmark for potato crisps is 750 µg/kg; 71 ppb is well under it.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (acrylamide by LC-MS/MS, J. Agric. Food Chem. 54:7001 (2006)) on three Takis Fuego samples from two to three lots: 71 ppb, which is 1.99 mcg in the 28 g (about 12 pieces) serving. CR's reference values: OEHHA NSRL 0.2 mcg/day, MADL 140 mcg/day, EPA reference dose 2 mcg/kg body weight/day.

Glycidyl esters form when seed oils are refined at high heat and turn into glycidol in the gut — a probable human carcinogen with no safe intake set by EFSA. One serving is about 6 times California's no-significant-risk level for glycidol (0.54 mcg per day), the reference CR applied. The chips' palm, soybean and canola oil blend is the source; this was the highest glycidyl ester level of the nine chips and crackers CR tested (Doritos 102 ppb, Lay's Classic 55 ppb).

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (glycidyl esters by GC-MS/MS, AOAC 2018.03) on three Takis Fuego samples from two to three lots: 122 ppb, which is 3.41 mcg per 28 g serving. CR's reference value: OEHHA NSRL for glycidol 0.54 mcg/day. The EU caps GE in retail vegetable oils at 1,000 µg/kg as glycidol; the U.S. has no limit.

3-MCPD is another by-product of refining vegetable oil at high heat. EFSA's tolerable daily intake is 2 mcg per kg of body weight — about 46 mcg a day for a 23 kg child — so one serving is roughly a tenth of that. It was still the highest 3-MCPD level of the nine chips and crackers CR tested (Lay's Classic 63 ppb, Snyder's pretzels not detected).

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (3-MCPD by GC-MS/MS, AOAC 2018.03) on three Takis Fuego samples from two to three lots: 160 ppb, which is 4.48 mcg per 28 g serving. Reference: EFSA tolerable daily intake 2 mcg/kg body weight/day (2018).

Detected at a low level — one serving is about a fifth of California's Prop 65 maximum allowable dose for lead (0.5 mcg per day). No level of lead is considered beneficial, and children are the most sensitive group; CR rated this result Very Good.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (lead by ICP-QQQ-MS, AOAC 2015.01) on three Takis Fuego samples from two to three lots: 4.02 ppb, which is 0.11 mcg per 28 g serving, against the OEHHA MADL of 0.5 mcg/day.

Detected, but one serving is about 2% of California's Prop 65 maximum allowable dose for cadmium (4.1 mcg per day) — trivial relative to the health reference. CR rated this result Very Good.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (cadmium by ICP-QQQ-MS, AOAC 2015.01) on three Takis Fuego samples from two to three lots: 3.72 ppb, which is 0.10 mcg per 28 g serving, against the OEHHA MADL of 4.1 mcg/day.

Total arsenic was low enough that CR did not run the inorganic-arsenic follow-up it applied to high-arsenic products; one serving is about 1% of California's no-significant-risk level for inorganic arsenic (10 mcg per day). CR rated this result Excellent.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (total arsenic by ICP-QQQ-MS, AOAC 2015.01) on three Takis Fuego samples from two to three lots: 3.79 ppb, which is 0.1 mcg per 28 g serving; inorganic arsenic was not tested because total arsenic was low.

Not detected — below the laboratory's method detection limit in every sample. CR rated this result Excellent.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (mercury by ICP-QQQ-MS, AOAC 2015.01) on three Takis Fuego samples from two to three lots: not detected in any sample.

DEHP is a plasticiser that migrates from processing equipment and packaging. One serving is about 0.1% of California's Prop 65 maximum allowable dose for DEHP (410 mcg per day) and well under EPA's reference dose; CR rated this result Very Good. Total phthalates were the same 439 ng, so DEHP was the only one found.

Consumer Reports' August 2026 kids' snacks test (phthalates by GC-MS/MS, GB 5009.271-2016 mod.) on three Takis Fuego samples from two to three lots: DEHP 16 ppb, which is 439 ng per 28 g serving; total phthalates 439 ng. References: OEHHA MADL 410 mcg/day, NSRL 310 mcg/day, EPA reference dose 20 mcg/kg body weight/day.