Do Takis Have Red 40? Takis vs Doritos Ingredients and Sodium

Takis Fuego Hot Chili Pepper & Lime and Doritos Nacho Cheese differ on colors, preservatives, oil wording, sodium and allergen tags, and this page sets out what each printed label lists for those factors.

TL;DR: Takis Fuego's printed label lists Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake and TBHQ, 420 mg of sodium per 28 g, a palm-containing oil line, and a soy tag. Doritos Nacho Cheese lists Yellow 6, Yellow 5 and Red 40, no TBHQ, 170 mg of sodium per 28 g, and milk and soybean tags.

Key takeaways

• Takis Fuego lists Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake and TBHQ. Doritos Nacho Cheese lists Yellow 6, Yellow 5 and Red 40 and no TBHQ.
• Per 28 g, Takis Fuego lists 420 mg sodium and Doritos Nacho Cheese lists 170 mg. Separately, the 1 oz Doritos single-serve label (028400090896) lists about 172 mg per 28.3 g package. That is a different serving basis and is not merged with the 28 g figure.
• Takis contains soy but no milk. Doritos Nacho Cheese contains milk ingredients and is tagged for milk and soybeans.
• The CSPI dye tracker lists Grupo Bimbo, whose brands include Takis, as committing to phase out synthetic dyes in all products by the end of 2026. PepsiCo's commitment, as the CSPI tracker describes it, covers some products, and the original Doritos Nacho Cheese still lists Yellow 6, Yellow 5 and Red 40.

Takis Fuego vs Doritos Nacho Cheese at a glance: which label lists what

The table compares printed label facts per 28 g. Both rows use a 28 g basis, but the figures come from different listings: the Takis column uses the 1 oz Takis Fuego listing, and the Doritos column uses the 9.25 oz Doritos Nacho Cheese listing. Because the bag sizes differ, the two columns are not a single product-level measurement, so check the package in hand.

Label item	Takis Fuego Hot Chili Pepper & Lime	Doritos Nacho Cheese
Certified colors named	Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake	Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40
Preservative named	TBHQ	None in the listed ingredients
Oil listed	Vegetable oil (palm and/or soybean and/or canola oil), plus soybean oil in seasoning (1 oz Takis ingredient list)	Vegetable oil (corn, canola, soybean, and/or sunflower oil)
Calories	140 kcal	150 kcal
Total fat	8 g	8 g
Saturated fat	2.5 g	1 g
Carbohydrates	16 g	17 g
Sodium	420 mg	170 mg
Protein	2 g	2 g
Allergen tags	Soy	Milk, soybeans

Table note: both rows are per 28 g, but the Takis column is taken from the 1 oz listing and the Doritos column from the 9.25 oz listing. Bag sizes and labels can differ, so the Nutrition Facts panel on the package in your hand is the final reference.

Which dyes are in each bag: Red 40, Yellow 6 lake and Yellow 5 explained

Takis Fuego lists Red 40 Lake and Yellow 6 Lake in its ingredient list. Doritos Nacho Cheese lists Yellow 6, Yellow 5 and Red 40 under artificial color, and the 1 oz single-serve Doritos label shows the same three colors.

The Takis list uses the word lake after each color name, while the Doritos list names the colors without that word. That difference is one of printed wording, and it is reported here as written on each label.

FDA requires certified colors to be listed by name in ingredient lists, and it states that FD&C Yellow No. 5 and Yellow No. 6 have approved uses that include snack foods. The FDA's color additive questions and answers explain the basics for consumers.

For more on how chip labels are typically organized, see 5 Chips People Scan Most, and What Their Labels Say.

Is TBHQ in Takis Fuego, and what does 21 CFR 172.185 allow?

Yes, the Takis Fuego ingredient list includes TBHQ. The 1 oz bag lists "tbhq (preservative)", and the 280.7 g bag lists "tbhq (antioxidant)". The Doritos Nacho Cheese ingredient lists in this comparison do not include TBHQ.

Under 21 CFR 172.185, TBHQ may be used as an antioxidant alone or with BHA and/or BHT. The total antioxidant content of a food may not exceed 0.02 percent of its oil or fat content. That is a regulatory ceiling. It does not state how much TBHQ any particular bag contains, and the amount in Takis is not disclosed on the label.

How do Takis' palm, soybean and canola oils compare with Doritos' oil blend?

Per 28 g, the Takis Fuego label lists vegetable oil (palm and/or soybean and/or canola oil), and its seasoning separately lists soybean oil. Doritos Nacho Cheese lists vegetable oil (corn, canola, soybean, and/or sunflower oil). Palm oil appears in the Takis list and does not appear in the Doritos list.

Both oil lines use "and/or" wording, which means the label does not state which oil, or which combination, is used in a given bag. Batch-level oil choices are not shown on either label.

The fat figures match at 8 g per 28 g for both products. Saturated fat is 2.5 g for Takis Fuego and 1 g for Doritos Nacho Cheese per 28 g. To see how other snacks handle oils, read 5 Chips and Popcorns Scanned for Seed Oils.

How much sodium is in a serving of Takis Fuego vs Doritos Nacho Cheese?

Per 28 g, Takis Fuego lists 420 mg of sodium, and Doritos Nacho Cheese lists 170 mg per 28 g on the 9.25 oz listing. On that basis, Takis lists more sodium.

The 1 oz Doritos single-serve listing (028400090896) shows about 172 mg per 28.3 g package. That figure uses a different serving basis and is not combined with the 28 g figure.

Takis lists other sizes on separate bases. The 280.7 g bag lists 410 mg of sodium per 12 pieces, which is 28 g. The 2 oz Takis bag lists 830 mg per 57 g bag, a 57 g basis that is labeled separately from the per 28 g figures. Older retailer listings have shown other Doritos sodium figures, from 190 to 210 mg. Those figures do not appear on the listings used for this comparison and are not relied on here.

The Daily Value for sodium on the Nutrition Facts label is 2,300 mg per day. That is a daily reference point, not a per-serving rule, and FDA's sodium guidance describes how the figure is used. For another sodium comparison, see Cheez-It vs Goldfish: Ingredients, Sodium and Calories.

These sodium figures are as printed on the listings cited. This article does not independently verify them against a physical package, so confirm the numbers on the package in hand.

What are the allergen differences between Takis Fuego and Doritos Nacho Cheese?

Takis Fuego is tagged for soy and lists no milk ingredient. Soy appears in the listing as hydrolyzed soy protein and as soybean oil, and the label states "contains soy".

Doritos Nacho Cheese is tagged for milk and soybeans. Its ingredient list includes cheddar cheese, romano cheese, whey, buttermilk, skim milk and lactose, which is why it carries milk ingredients. Soybean oil is part of its oil blend.

For someone who needs to avoid milk, the two labels differ in a clear, checkable way. For someone who needs to avoid soy, both labels list soy-derived ingredients. Cross-contact and manufacturing-line information is not printed on these listings, so the contains statements and tags are the only allergen details in this comparison.

What has each maker pledged on dye removal, and what has been disclosed?

A CSPI synthetic dyes tracker dated August 10, 2026 lists Grupo Bimbo, whose brands include Takis, as committing to phase out synthetic dyes in all products by the end of 2026.

Whether Takis has already reformulated any U.S. product without dyes is not stated in the tracker. The ingredient list of any dye-free product from that brand is also not described in this article.

PepsiCo's commitment, as the CSPI tracker describes it, covers some products, including Lay's and Tostitos by the end of 2025. The tracker also says PepsiCo has introduced new versions of Cheetos, Doritos and Gatorade with no artificial colors. The name and ingredient list of the dye-free Doritos version were not disclosed in the sources used here, and the original Doritos Nacho Cheese listings cited still contain Yellow 6, Yellow 5 and Red 40.

What has FDA said about Red 40 and the other dyes in these chips?

On April 22, 2025, the FDA announced that it is working with industry to eliminate FD&C Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2 and Green No. 3 from the food supply by the end of 2026. Readers can check the FDA announcement for current status.

The current FDA color-additive guidance remains the reference for what is permitted today. Products sold now may still list these colors on their labels.

Who may want to read these labels more closely, and what does FDA say?

FDA states that most children have no adverse effects from color additives, but that some evidence suggests certain children may be sensitive. Parents of young children, adults who track dye exposure, and people who have been advised by a clinician to watch sodium or specific additives may want to read these labels closely.

The labels cited here do not establish how any individual will respond to a dye, TBHQ or sodium level. Research on dye sensitivity in children remains an open question, and the evidence does not show how often any reaction occurs in the general population. Individual responses, groups not studied, and long-term patterns cannot be settled from label data alone.

How to read the Takis and Doritos labels yourself, step by step

Use this checklist on any chip package:

• Find the Ingredients list and look for color names. Note whether they are followed by the word lake.
• Look for TBHQ in parentheses and check the role listed beside it, such as preservative or antioxidant.
• Read the oil line for "and/or" wording, which signals that the oil source may vary.
• Compare sodium per serving and per package, and check the serving size first.
• Read the Contains statement and allergen tags for milk, soy and other ingredients.
• Check the current package, since reformulation is underway at several makers.

If you want to see how these ingredients are explained on your own package, scan the label yourself with the Aurascan app. Aurascan explains every ingredient one by one with cited evidence rather than a single score.

Related reading: for the dip that often sits next to these chips, see Which Has More Sodium, Pace or Herdez Salsa?.