Do Cheetos Go Bad? – Full Analysis

Cheetos are the much-loved cheesy treats that were developed by Frito-Lay. These cheese puff snacks contain a good amount of salt as well as some preservatives which help prolong their useful life.

Do Cheetos go bad? Yes, Cheetos do go bad because of all the cheese powder that coats the chip. They tend to go bad faster than other types of chips. As long as the Cheetos’ bag is sealed and not exposed to high amounts of heat for a long time, they can last for 6 months. Once the bag is open, it will last 3-4 days, at most a week. 

If you have an expired bag of Cheetos and their expiration date is at least 3 months from the day you found them, you still may be able to eat them. But it is always a good idea to exercise caution when eating expired cheese because of the expired dairy.

How Long Do Cheetos Last?

From the moment a bag of Cheetos is bagged and sealed at the factory, it will last about six months. Six months is the industry standard for most types of potato chips, so you should eat Cheetos within the first six months of their existence to get optimal flavor and crunchiness. 

Cheetos have a lot of cheese, although the cheese mixture has stabilizers and additives to keep it shelf-stable. Because of the high level of dairy that coats the Cheeto chip in the form of cheese, Cheetos do not laugh as long as other types of chips. Even the expiration date is not as long as other chips.

How Long Do Cheetos Last? Shelf Life [Chart]

Item	Shelf Life
Cheetos, sealed	6 months
Cheetos, opened	1 week

How to Know if Cheetos have Gone Bad

Chips are hard: When you bite into a Cheeto, it must have a bit of saltiness, cheesiness, and of course, their undeniable crunch. But if you wait too long and the chips are expired, the crunchiness will not be there. It will most likely be hard and will be more like a crack than a crunch. Although it is not too bad if you decide to eat these dry Cheetos, it will not be like eating a fresh bag of chips.

Cheeto dust has no flavor: one of the top reasons people love Cheetos is its cheesy flavor. People love Cheetos so much that they also enjoy licking their fingers because of the Cheetos dust that gathers once they are done with the bag. 

But if you open a Cheetos bag and there is no flavor when you taste an area with a lot of cheese dust, you should throw the bag away. The Cheeto dust and the Cheetos chips are now old, so old that there is no flavor left in the cheese dust. 

Plus, it’s not good to eat expired cheese since it has dairy products inside its cheese mix. The expired cheese dust has dairy products inside the mix. The expired cheese dust could hurt your stomach if you ingest it.

Bugs are crawling around in the bag: The worst thing you could ever find in a bag of chips is not an empty bag. It is the presence of bugs like rollie pollies, roaches, and silverfish.  Camas articuladas

If you see even one bug crawling around inside your Cheeto bag, just throw the whole thing away. You don’t know how long the bug has been there and what Cheetos they have and dining on. Sadly, you have to throw the bag of Cheetos away. 

Can You Eat Expired Cheetos?

Yes, you can still eat Cheetos after their expiration date. But it is always a good idea to exercise caution and do the smell as well as taste test before you eat anything that’s expired. If you have a bag of Cheetos that are expiring in a few days, then you have nearly three months from the expiration date to eat them.

Since Cheetos have a lot of cheese on them, it is always better not to eat a pack of expired Cheetos since the expired cheese powder may hurt your stomach. But as long as the Cheetos smell and taste good when you first lick it, then it should be fine to eat. Also, it should still have the same amount of crunch as a fresh bag of Cheetos.

Unfortunately, there is no way to revitalize an old expired bag of Cheetos. Once their flavor and crunch are gone, there is no way to get it back. 

How to Store Cheetos

You can store a bag of Cheetos just like any other type of chip. Inspect to see if there are no tears in the bag, and then place them in a pantry, cover, or somewhere that doesn’t get too hot or too cold. 

Once you open a bag of Cheetos and decide to save the remaining chips, take the excess plastic and roll it down. After it is rolled, place a chip clip over the nexus foil, so it stays closed. Protecting the Cheetos from the air is the best way to preserve their open shelf life and keep them as fresh and delicious as possible.

Some people prefer to get small bags of Cheetos instead of one large Cheeto bag because they can open one bag and not compromise the other bags. They do not have the option of saving a massive Cheetos bag for a month if they open it. They would have to eat all those Cheetos within two weeks. Purchasing Cheetos as smaller bags allow people to eat them over a longer period of time.

Conclusion 

• Cheetos are flavored chips that have cheese dust all around them.
• Cheetos are extremely popular chips sold all around the world, and there are many different kinds of flavors.
• A sealed bag of Cheetos will last six months in storage.
• Once the bag is open, the Cheetos must be eaten in less than a week
• If you can’t eat a large bag of Cheetos within a week, it is better to buy small bags of Cheetos instead.
• To store Cheetos, so they last as long as possible, keep them in a storage area that does not rise or drop in temperature often.
• Do not eat Cheetos if the flavor is completely gone from the Cheeto cheese dust.
• If you see bugs crawling around the bag of Cheetos, do not eat them even if it is just one bug.