Does SkinnyPop Have Seed Oils? Yes; LesserEvil Uses Coconut

Yes: SkinnyPop Original's ingredient list is popcorn, sunflower oil and salt, so it contains a seed oil, while LesserEvil Himalayan Pink Salt uses organic extra virgin coconut oil. Per 28 g (3 cups), SkinnyPop Original lists 150 calories, 10 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat (5% DV) and 130 mg sodium (6% DV), with no fiber figure on its brand page for the 4.4 oz bag. LesserEvil Himalayan Pink Salt lists 130 calories, 7 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat (25% DV), 190 mg sodium (8% DV) and 4 g fiber (14% DV), and it uses coconut oil where SkinnyPop uses sunflower oil. This comparison sets those numbers side by side so you can weigh them against your own needs.

Key takeaways

• Per 28 g, SkinnyPop Original lists 1 g saturated fat (5% DV) and LesserEvil lists 5 g (25% DV).
• The fats differ: sunflower oil in SkinnyPop, organic extra virgin coconut oil in LesserEvil.
• LesserEvil lists 190 mg sodium per 28 g, compared with 130 mg for SkinnyPop.
• LesserEvil lists 4 g fiber (14% DV) per 28 g. SkinnyPop's brand page does not list fiber for the 4.4 oz bag.
• Check the Nutrition Facts panel on the bag you buy, because labels and formulas can change.

Does SkinnyPop Original have seed oils, and what does LesserEvil use instead?

SkinnyPop Original lists sunflower oil in its ingredients, and LesserEvil uses organic extra virgin coconut oil. 'Seed oil' is a colloquial term with no regulatory definition, so whether sunflower oil fits that label depends on how the word is used. For what the term does and doesn't tell you, see Seed Oils on a Label: What It Tells You, What It Doesn't.

The SkinnyPop 4.4 oz bag (SKU 00850251004001) lists 'Popcorn, Sunflower Oil, Salt' as its ingredients. The 0.65 oz single-serve bag (SKU 00850251004018) lists the same ingredients, and Open Food Facts records them as 'Popcorn, sunflower oil, salt.' Both SkinnyPop pages are labeled OU, NON-GMO and VEGAN. For a closer look at that bag, see Is SkinnyPop Clean? Three Ingredients, Scanned.

LesserEvil's product page lists the ingredients as 'Organic NON-GMO Popcorn, Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Himalayan Salt.' Its label also states 'Produced in a facility that also uses milk and egg ingredients,' which may matter to people who avoid those allergens.

For more chips and popcorn checked for seed oils, see 5 Chips and Popcorns Scanned for Seed Oils.

What oil does LesserEvil Himalayan Pink Salt popcorn use compared with SkinnyPop?

LesserEvil uses organic extra virgin coconut oil, while SkinnyPop Original uses sunflower oil. Both products list popcorn and salt, so the oil is the main ingredient difference between the two labels.

The labels differ in other ways too. LesserEvil's popcorn is listed as organic and non-GMO. SkinnyPop's brand pages list NON-GMO and VEGAN, but they do not say whether its popcorn is organic, so this article makes no claim either way.

When you read a bag, check these details:

• The oil name, such as sunflower oil or coconut oil.
• Organic or non-GMO claims, which are separate from the oil.
• Allergen statements, such as the milk and egg facility note on LesserEvil.

For another look at the oil question, see Does Siete Have Seed Oils? Avocado Oil vs Late July.

How much saturated fat is in SkinnyPop vs LesserEvil per 28g serving?

SkinnyPop Original lists 1 g of saturated fat (5% DV) per 28 g serving, and LesserEvil Himalayan Pink Salt lists 5 g (25% DV) per the same 28 g (3 cup) serving. Because the serving sizes match, the difference can be compared directly.

The FDA classifies 5% DV or less per serving as low and 20% DV or more as high. On that scale, SkinnyPop's 5% DV is low and LesserEvil's 25% DV is high. The FDA Daily Value for saturated fat is 20 g, so LesserEvil's 5 g is one quarter of that reference amount.

The smaller SkinnyPop 0.65 oz bag lists 0.5 g saturated fat (3% DV) per 18 g package. That is a different serving size, so it should not be compared directly with the 28 g figures.

Which has more sodium, SkinnyPop or LesserEvil Himalayan Pink Salt popcorn?

LesserEvil Himalayan Pink Salt popcorn has more sodium per 28 g serving: 190 mg (8% DV), compared with 130 mg (6% DV) for SkinnyPop Original. The brand panels show a difference of 60 mg per serving.

The FDA's Daily Value for sodium is 2300 mg, so both products supply a small share of that reference amount per serving. The 0.65 oz SkinnyPop package lists 85 mg (4% DV) per 18 g, a different serving size.

Sodium figures here come from the brand panels. For another snack sodium comparison, see Which Has More Sodium, Veggie Straws or Pirate's Booty?.

How much fiber is in SkinnyPop vs LesserEvil per 28g serving?

LesserEvil lists 4 g of dietary fiber (14% DV) per 28 g serving. The SkinnyPop 4.4 oz brand page does not list fiber, so a per-28 g fiber figure for SkinnyPop is not disclosed in the information used for this article.

The only SkinnyPop fiber figure available here comes from Open Food Facts, which lists 1 g of fiber per 18 g for the 0.65 oz bag. That is a different package and serving size, and scaling it to 28 g would be a guess. Check the panel on the bag you buy.

Is LesserEvil popcorn healthier than SkinnyPop? What the label facts show

The label facts do not establish that either popcorn is healthier overall, because each scores higher on different nutrients per 28 g. LesserEvil lists more saturated fat, sodium and fiber, while SkinnyPop lists more total fat and calories but less saturated fat and sodium.

The brand panels, side by side:

• Saturated fat: 1 g (5% DV) for SkinnyPop, 5 g (25% DV) for LesserEvil.
• Sodium: 130 mg (6% DV) for SkinnyPop, 190 mg (8% DV) for LesserEvil.
• Fiber: not listed on SkinnyPop's 4.4 oz brand page, 4 g (14% DV) for LesserEvil.
• Total fat: 10 g for SkinnyPop, 7 g for LesserEvil.

Which of these numbers matters most depends on what you track: saturated fat, sodium, fiber, or a milk and egg facility statement.

How do SkinnyPop and LesserEvil compare on calories, fat, and carbohydrates per serving?

Per 28 g, SkinnyPop Original lists 150 calories, 10 g total fat and 15 g total carbohydrates, while LesserEvil lists 130 calories, 7 g total fat and 16 g total carbohydrates. Both list 2 g protein and 0 g total sugars.

Nutrient (per 28 g, 3 cups)	SkinnyPop Original (4.4 oz bag)	LesserEvil Himalayan Pink Salt (4.6 oz bag)
Calories	150	130
Total fat	10 g (13% DV)	7 g (9% DV)
Saturated fat	1 g (5% DV)	5 g (25% DV)
Trans fat	Not disclosed	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 g
Sodium	130 mg (6% DV)	190 mg (8% DV)
Total carbohydrate	15 g (5% DV)	16 g (6% DV)
Dietary fiber	Not listed on brand page	4 g (14% DV)
Total sugars	0 g	0 g
Protein	2 g	2 g
Oil	Sunflower oil	Organic extra virgin coconut oil

LesserEvil also lists vitamin D (0.2 mcg), calcium (0 mg), iron (0.4 mg) and potassium (50 mg) per 28 g. Equivalent figures were not disclosed for SkinnyPop in the information used here.

How can you compare popcorn labels yourself using the FDA Daily Value guide?

Use the FDA's Daily Value percentages to compare two labels quickly: 5% DV or less is low, and 20% DV or more is high. Start with these checks:

• Read the serving size first, then compare panels that use the same grams or cups.
• Do not compare the 0.65 oz and 4.4 oz SkinnyPop panels directly, because their servings differ.
• Measure saturated fat against the 20 g Daily Value and sodium against 2300 mg.
• If a fiber line is missing from the panel, treat the figure as not disclosed rather than assuming a value.
• Read the ingredient list for the oil name instead of relying on front-of-package wording.

Check current Nutrition Facts panels before buying, since labels can change.