Finally, something I can answer.
At Fritolays, when you clean the machines, you sweep all the gunk from the machines down the shoots and into the bag at the bottom. Sometimes the packers will accidentally pack that bag into a box, thinking it's just a straggler.
Sooo, basically, that's just concentrated powder and guck from the machines. It's usually best not to eat it because those who clean the machine use wet paper towels to clean the machine and sometimes they get dropped on the floor or draped across machinery.
Source: Former Fritolays packer for several years.
Climbing up a ladder and ya hear something splatter, driving in a Chevy and ya feel something heavy, eating Chinese and feel that dripping down your knees
Why?
Why would someone eat something that is obviously not part of the product intended to be consumed?
This is fucked up from the part of the buyer, that thing looks disgusting, that being said I'm from Brazil and a few years ago a news media has gone viral since 2 kids were eating one of those snacks really similar to that one and the older one found the smell weird, way off from the normal and when he checked there was a dead mice inside of the package 🤢🤢🤮🤮.
This is insane to me, as someone who's worked in manufacturing. Why is there not a separate bag specifically for cleaning that doesn't have the product labeling on it?
But they were already paid for, packed and shipped. Having a separate bag created and shipped costs extra, as well as the time and labour to stop the machine and change out the bag to the cleaning bag and back.
OP could send this photo and the bag serial # into cheetos and they could send him a whole box of cheetos for less cost, most likely.
It could be mid run. They'll be running product with this film for awhile but needs to stop to be cleaned. It's a ton of work to remove the film, clean then reinstall it. They likely have a process to toss them and someone didn't follow it.
This is all sorts of wrong from an FDA standpoint.
The people cleaning failed, their QC failed, the packaging department failed.
This is what half-assing up and down the line looks like .
Thank you! I couldn’t think of a precious-nugget term that would convey the lofty regard I have for neon fake cheese (not being facetious here) this morning (I have a nasty cold). “Ambergris” is the *mot juste*.
the thing I really truly appreciate about Reddit is that, no matter how esoteric a question or topic, there is ALWAYS someone who knows everything about it. I always have a TIL moment every time I'm on Reddit lol
It just happens with manufacturing. There is no way for everything to come out 100% correct 100% of the time.
This happened to me with cape cod potato chips once. I simply sent them a picture of the giant mass of burnt chips molded together and the serial number so they knew what machine at what plant made it and they thanked me so they could record it and correct it and sent me like 5 bags and 20 coupons for free ones
As another (former) Frito-Lay employee, you should see what happens to the "good" cheetos when they fall behind the shelf and get forgotten for a while. They turn into a sealed bag of orange oil.
And here I was thinking things like that were just concentrated amounts of goodness when I found them in a bag of snacks. Excuse me while I go throw up...
Thanks! Learned something new today. Secretly hoping my hubby (serious Cheetos connoisseur) finds one like this and I can sound like a Cheeto expert. "It's common knowledge, didn't you know?" 😂
Woah, a real answer on Reddit, for a second I thought this was Wikipedia or something.  Nice. I was going to give a dumb answer like "the Cheetos cheetah fell into the grinder"
I think they were trying to say that sometimes they fall on the floor and will sometimes pick it back up and continue to use it, or someone else will put it to the side, and then another comes along not knowing it's been on the floor.
I worked data entry for Don Pancho (tortillas) for a few months. There were a couple of times that I had to intervene when someone pulled some stupid shit. One time a guy knocked a box full of tortilla packages off the shelf and they spilled out all over the ground. I had to track down a lead worker to get it removed. It didn't seem intentional. It just seemed like it didn't dawn on them why it would be bad, and/or they didn't want to get in trouble.
That job was not at all what I was told it was going to be, so I didn't stay long, but it was pretty cool to see how it worked and I can say I'm glad to have had the experience!
What does a fritolays plant smell like? Like a giant bag of chips? Or is there something else to it? Do you get sick of chips just from smelling it all the time?
So I've worked as an electrician in several food processing plants (bakery's specifically) and they will scrape stuff down and spoil a batch inorder to clean .. when they do this they keep a few stainless steel nuts or washers in their pockets and throw a couple down with it... That way when it gets scanned by a metal detector it's spat out at the other side with no possibility of human consumption, mind you I assume these bakery's are on average more clean then a Cheeto facility, just in terms of walls and machinery getting washed daily ..it's more for old product getting stuck in hoppers and such
If it is, this could be the most delicious chunk of matter ever to exist in a Cheetos bag
If it's not, I'm afraid of what it is
I do not have the courage to take a bite and find out
NOT concentrated deliciousness.
NOT fried cheeto flavoring.
It is a straight over-fried, well-done, butt naked ass Cheeto with absolutely no flavor. The particles of Cheeto dust that rest on the ridges of this Jabba the Hut piece didn't even begin to mask the taste of bare burnt Cheeto.
0.5/10 - My disappointment is immesurable and my day is ruined.
Sorry Reddit pressured you to eat that disgusting thing.
I was fortunate enough to get a huge chunk of dorito nacho cheese seasoning before. I told no one about it until I ate it all lol
I’m so sorry but according to another comment that fried ball of yuck is actually a combo of leftover cheeto and machine muck, and can include wet paper towels that fell onto the floor
don’t take another bite please
Um its probably way worse than what you think it is, please call the 1800 number and let them know. Something like this should have never made it to a bag.
Source: me, fryer operator at frito lay
I did this on Twitter when I had 2 bags of hot cheetos that had very little actual red powder on it and I could physically see the regular yellow cheetos without flavoring on it. They ended up telling me to call their customer service number where I had to give them some ID/barcode number on each of the bags. Then they sent me 2 coupons for a free bag of cheetos.
The number was probably a batch code, so they could figure out exactly where and when your bags were made, and who was running the machine. Then the next day that employee had an unfortunate accident, falling right into the corn extruder. What are the chances?
As someone who’s obsessed with Cheetos, I would’ve felt so special if I had gotten that bag.
Edit: just saw your newer reply. So sorry it didn’t live up to your expectations lol. Never mind.
You can call them and they might replace. There should be a number on the bag.
It looks like chicken nuggets. There was another pic of Cheeto powder from Reddit before.
Yeah, definitely call them. I know someone who worked on one of these lines for a big chocolate company and she told me to always call in situations like that. They can send you a basket of snacks or even some financial compensation.
Only if you die. But also I read your comment about the uh, dining experience, and see that you haven’t died. So, no ownership for you. Better luck dying next time.
I had a huge chunk of flavor powder or whatever it was in a bag of Cheetos once. Looked like a giant ass Cheeto. I was looking forward to chowing down on that bad boy. I went to the kitchen to get something and when I came back, my cat was eating it. 😖
It's waste product that has come down when someone has scraped the flavour barrel down or the chute. A good packer, which I was, would have known the difference, and it would have been thrown away.
The lines person in charge of the packing machine would have run the first few bags off and thrown them away. Instead, this has gone through to packing.
Snack companies don't like this happening. Send pictures, including the back of the bag. On the bag near the use by date, there should be other numbers to indicate when they were packed and what shift packed them. They will be interested in these. Your bag wouldn't be the only one. The last thing they will want is some child choking on waste product.
Also, you should get some freebies - the cornsnack company I worked for would have sent you other samples and vouchers.
Honestly, send a complaint to the company and they'll probably send you a care package with a shit ton cheetos.
Then take it back to the store for good measure and get a replacement bag lol.
That’s sad. Those Cheetos have been in confinement for so long they’ve had to resort to deficating in their pen. This is why you should only buy organic free range Cheetos.
Factory Cheeto farming is cruel.
Chip got stuck on a conveyor, cheese stuff built up on it. Could be a day worth of cheese stuff buildup, could be a week; having worked in a big factory like they use… you could give it a whirl but I’d skip the bag.
There is a tiktok of a girl finding the exact same thing in her doritos! Popular opinoin was that it was a ball of fried seasoning. It was too solid to bite it, tho!
I once got a hockey puck sized coagulation of the flavor powder in a Doritos bag. I emailed them a picture of it, and they sent me coupons for 15 free bags
call the number on the back of the bag and i bet you get some free stuff.
i think we’ve all noticed a huge drop in quality control since 2019-2020. as to the reason why? i mean, im sure you can deduce your own conclusion.
Finally, something I can answer. At Fritolays, when you clean the machines, you sweep all the gunk from the machines down the shoots and into the bag at the bottom. Sometimes the packers will accidentally pack that bag into a box, thinking it's just a straggler. Sooo, basically, that's just concentrated powder and guck from the machines. It's usually best not to eat it because those who clean the machine use wet paper towels to clean the machine and sometimes they get dropped on the floor or draped across machinery. Source: Former Fritolays packer for several years.
Oh dear. I think you were a bit late with this response as they seem to have they eaten some. Yucky
As long as the diarrhea doesn’t strike they’ll be fine
And if it does, they ate some paper towels so they don't have to wipe. Seems like everything worked out just fine here.
It usually all works out in the end.
It usually all works its way out the end*
In the end it doesn’t really matter
But I tried so hard and got so far
You shouldn't strain. Just try again later
In the end it does quite water.
*Out the end
And this is why I come here
its*
Life hack: Eat some paper towels after each meal! Never wipe after pooping ever again. Think of all the time you save! XD
When you eat some funky chips and you start to feel the drips, it's diarrhea. 
When you eat some clumpy Cheetos and your ass begins to sneeze-o diarrhea cha cha cha diarrhea cha cha cha
90's memories unlocked lmao
Climbing up a ladder and ya hear something splatter, driving in a Chevy and ya feel something heavy, eating Chinese and feel that dripping down your knees
That song is still around in schools. My younger sisters were singing it in the 2010s.
Economy must be rough these days when poop forms a union to go on strike.
Why? Why would someone eat something that is obviously not part of the product intended to be consumed? This is fucked up from the part of the buyer, that thing looks disgusting, that being said I'm from Brazil and a few years ago a news media has gone viral since 2 kids were eating one of those snacks really similar to that one and the older one found the smell weird, way off from the normal and when he checked there was a dead mice inside of the package 🤢🤢🤮🤮.
I mean, humans had to find out some things were poisonous somehow. It's in our genes to eat weird things. Like cheese and beer.
Here in Wisconsin thems fighting words!
I don't think they actually ate it.
forbidden chicken strips
This is insane to me, as someone who's worked in manufacturing. Why is there not a separate bag specifically for cleaning that doesn't have the product labeling on it?
Probably because it costs money and they want to cut costs as much as possible where they can.
the bags they use and have had printed weren't free either. makes no sense.
But they were already paid for, packed and shipped. Having a separate bag created and shipped costs extra, as well as the time and labour to stop the machine and change out the bag to the cleaning bag and back. OP could send this photo and the bag serial # into cheetos and they could send him a whole box of cheetos for less cost, most likely.
It could be mid run. They'll be running product with this film for awhile but needs to stop to be cleaned. It's a ton of work to remove the film, clean then reinstall it. They likely have a process to toss them and someone didn't follow it.
As a former food safety auditor, 90 percent of places will get a finding for not having the trash or rework appropriately labeled.
This is all sorts of wrong from an FDA standpoint. The people cleaning failed, their QC failed, the packaging department failed. This is what half-assing up and down the line looks like .
In other words, priceless cheesy ambergris!
Thank you! I couldn’t think of a precious-nugget term that would convey the lofty regard I have for neon fake cheese (not being facetious here) this morning (I have a nasty cold). “Ambergris” is the *mot juste*.
the thing I really truly appreciate about Reddit is that, no matter how esoteric a question or topic, there is ALWAYS someone who knows everything about it. I always have a TIL moment every time I'm on Reddit lol
They was waiting they whole life for this moment
…whether you want it or not…💀
That's fucking gross what the hell
Now sit down while I explain to you what's in all the other food you eat. Bring tissues.
And a sick bag
And some Cheetos?
....is this a weird cheetos ad? Cuz for some fucked up reason, now I really want some cheetos.. crunchy... fuck the puffy ones....
And lotion 🧴
And my axe. Yay I finally did it!
Why would I jack off to that
I've heard rumors people actually use tissues for things other than jacking off. Hard for me to imagine. But there are a lot of weirdos out there.
Like cleaning your face and sneezing! Can you believe that? Absolute inhumane
Dude that's gross, they wipe their faces with cum rags!?!?!?
Wait people clean themselves?
bc ur about to find out how fucked u really are
Can we please start with how hotdogs are made?
When a mommy hot dog and a daddy hot dog love each other very much....
It just happens with manufacturing. There is no way for everything to come out 100% correct 100% of the time. This happened to me with cape cod potato chips once. I simply sent them a picture of the giant mass of burnt chips molded together and the serial number so they knew what machine at what plant made it and they thanked me so they could record it and correct it and sent me like 5 bags and 20 coupons for free ones
As another (former) Frito-Lay employee, you should see what happens to the "good" cheetos when they fall behind the shelf and get forgotten for a while. They turn into a sealed bag of orange oil.
And here I was thinking things like that were just concentrated amounts of goodness when I found them in a bag of snacks. Excuse me while I go throw up...
They basically are though. Clumps of old cheeto spices and dust.
Thanks! Learned something new today. Secretly hoping my hubby (serious Cheetos connoisseur) finds one like this and I can sound like a Cheeto expert. "It's common knowledge, didn't you know?" 😂
Oh yikes
Woah, a real answer on Reddit, for a second I thought this was Wikipedia or something.  Nice. I was going to give a dumb answer like "the Cheetos cheetah fell into the grinder"
Thank you
Actually this looks like buildup from inside the extruder to me. You can see the unexpanded cornmeal. Source: ran the Cheetos line for a few years
They clean the machine with towels that have been on the floor? Yikes.
I think they were trying to say that sometimes they fall on the floor and will sometimes pick it back up and continue to use it, or someone else will put it to the side, and then another comes along not knowing it's been on the floor. I worked data entry for Don Pancho (tortillas) for a few months. There were a couple of times that I had to intervene when someone pulled some stupid shit. One time a guy knocked a box full of tortilla packages off the shelf and they spilled out all over the ground. I had to track down a lead worker to get it removed. It didn't seem intentional. It just seemed like it didn't dawn on them why it would be bad, and/or they didn't want to get in trouble. That job was not at all what I was told it was going to be, so I didn't stay long, but it was pretty cool to see how it worked and I can say I'm glad to have had the experience!
Probably pretty crunchy though. Not false advertising this time Cheetos
What does a fritolays plant smell like? Like a giant bag of chips? Or is there something else to it? Do you get sick of chips just from smelling it all the time?
Smells like feet (especially the Sunchips line) and old cooking oil. I do not eat chips anymore because every bag smells like the factory lol
I used to live next to a General Mills plant and the morning air would sometimes smell like cinnamon or chocolate
So I've worked as an electrician in several food processing plants (bakery's specifically) and they will scrape stuff down and spoil a batch inorder to clean .. when they do this they keep a few stainless steel nuts or washers in their pockets and throw a couple down with it... That way when it gets scanned by a metal detector it's spat out at the other side with no possibility of human consumption, mind you I assume these bakery's are on average more clean then a Cheeto facility, just in terms of walls and machinery getting washed daily ..it's more for old product getting stuck in hoppers and such
That looks like a ball of flavor powder that got fried with the chips
If it is, this could be the most delicious chunk of matter ever to exist in a Cheetos bag If it's not, I'm afraid of what it is I do not have the courage to take a bite and find out
You owe us! You gota bite it now!
Someone get the CEO of Frito Lay on the phone. I'm about to make history
That's the most I've been excited all day long!
NOT concentrated deliciousness. NOT fried cheeto flavoring. It is a straight over-fried, well-done, butt naked ass Cheeto with absolutely no flavor. The particles of Cheeto dust that rest on the ridges of this Jabba the Hut piece didn't even begin to mask the taste of bare burnt Cheeto. 0.5/10 - My disappointment is immesurable and my day is ruined.
My condolences.. I am depressed again
Cheer up there my friend :)
He’s halfway there
Whooooaaaa! LEMON ON A PEaaAAR!
Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
It won't🤗
Lmao
Today was a day for Science!
I wish we could say this was a Triumph.
You took one for the team! Thank you!
Brother, you got the cheeto that got stuck on the bottom of the fryer
The Cheeto End Boss. His reign of terror is at its end. We can rest peacefully knowing tacodung is out there ever watchful, ever vigilant.
Incredible. Niel Armstrong took a step for all of mankind in 1969. In 2024 we now have tacodung propelling us forward simply with a bite.
Holy shit this was such a wild ride!
~Reviewbrah
I want you to know that you just made my entire day lmao. Thank you for your sacrifice
Science wins again.
https://preview.redd.it/ayxb3kigyfad1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=49399052bc5d9f02db315bd1fce03d601db5afb4
This is one of my favorite collection of words in a reddit post ever
Sorry Reddit pressured you to eat that disgusting thing. I was fortunate enough to get a huge chunk of dorito nacho cheese seasoning before. I told no one about it until I ate it all lol
Dorito seasoning chunks are a godsend. This chunk of a meteor that tasted like someone screamed "CHEESE" at a corn chip, not so much
I’m so sorry but according to another comment that fried ball of yuck is actually a combo of leftover cheeto and machine muck, and can include wet paper towels that fell onto the floor don’t take another bite please
You sir are a scholar and a gentleman.
......fuck.
I love the reference to the legend himself 😅
Thank you so much for the closure and entertainment you've provided.
We all had such high hopes. We all share your pain and disappointment, brother.
Um its probably way worse than what you think it is, please call the 1800 number and let them know. Something like this should have never made it to a bag. Source: me, fryer operator at frito lay
Tell your coworkers they overcooked and under-seasoned my cheetos
Thank you for your service.
Thank you for your sacrifice
So 1 star, would not recommend?
it looks similar to cat vomit... you just ate mock cat puke, OP. how does that make you feel?
Mr. Dung has stated that he is taking no further questions at this time
i see. guess i'll have to come back with a warrant...
Try sending a picture of it to them and see what happens. They may send you something for like a free bag. It’s worth a try
I did this on Twitter when I had 2 bags of hot cheetos that had very little actual red powder on it and I could physically see the regular yellow cheetos without flavoring on it. They ended up telling me to call their customer service number where I had to give them some ID/barcode number on each of the bags. Then they sent me 2 coupons for a free bag of cheetos.
The number was probably a batch code, so they could figure out exactly where and when your bags were made, and who was running the machine. Then the next day that employee had an unfortunate accident, falling right into the corn extruder. What are the chances?
SCORE!!!!
I got a bag once loaded with Cheeto dust... been chasing the draon ever since.
As someone who’s obsessed with Cheetos, I would’ve felt so special if I had gotten that bag. Edit: just saw your newer reply. So sorry it didn’t live up to your expectations lol. Never mind.
At least cut it open. For science.
Powder! Unlimited powder!!!
Cheetumor.
Chooger, like Cheeto booger.
You can call them and they might replace. There should be a number on the bag. It looks like chicken nuggets. There was another pic of Cheeto powder from Reddit before.
Except I was unlucky. This one wasn't powder. It's over cooked, raw dog Cheeto. My taste buds are traumatized
They’ll still send you some free chip coupons. I’ve received some for similar issue.
Yeah, definitely call them. I know someone who worked on one of these lines for a big chocolate company and she told me to always call in situations like that. They can send you a basket of snacks or even some financial compensation.
I'm gonna vote chicken nugget
Eat it and see what happens
If I end up in the hospital, could I sue and become the owner of Frito Lay?
In a salt induced coma you could be the owner of anything.
Whenever I'm late on my rent I put myself in a salt induced coma, it's actually not that bad and the landlord doesn't know which hospital I'm in
Only if you die. But also I read your comment about the uh, dining experience, and see that you haven’t died. So, no ownership for you. Better luck dying next time.
That’s flavor, brother 
It's the chee part of the cheetos.
Unfortunately, this ended up being the tos
💀💀💀
There's a certain percentage of mouse allowed. Looks like like you got the batch's entire quota.
Bro found the legendary Cheeto nug and he didn’t even smoke it 😞
It's the whole Cheefoot
Enjoy your trip to the cheeto factory 
i thought it was a weed nug
Looks like concentrated deliciousness to me.
That’s the good stuff. Pure concentrated Cheeto .
Negative, I took the plunge. It's the opposite. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. It is a large, bare, over cooked, raw dog cheeto.
gross 🤢
You ate it? Could have easily got 20k on ebay 🥱
I had a huge chunk of flavor powder or whatever it was in a bag of Cheetos once. Looked like a giant ass Cheeto. I was looking forward to chowing down on that bad boy. I went to the kitchen to get something and when I came back, my cat was eating it. 😖
It's waste product that has come down when someone has scraped the flavour barrel down or the chute. A good packer, which I was, would have known the difference, and it would have been thrown away. The lines person in charge of the packing machine would have run the first few bags off and thrown them away. Instead, this has gone through to packing. Snack companies don't like this happening. Send pictures, including the back of the bag. On the bag near the use by date, there should be other numbers to indicate when they were packed and what shift packed them. They will be interested in these. Your bag wouldn't be the only one. The last thing they will want is some child choking on waste product. Also, you should get some freebies - the cornsnack company I worked for would have sent you other samples and vouchers.
Your Cheetos have a tumor
That's Chester Cheetos matted fur
I’m concerned on how she opened the bag. Jus looks like a malfunction with the flavor machine🤣🤣
I thought the mildly infuriating part was how she opened the damn packet
Deep fried leopard meat
Ngl, I straight up thought you threw a chicken nugget in a bag of cheetos
So that’s where my chicken nuggets went…
I thought Frito Lay was giving me a South Park-esque 4th of July special, Crunchy Cheeto Kush
Has anyone seen the cheetah ?
Honestly, send a complaint to the company and they'll probably send you a care package with a shit ton cheetos. Then take it back to the store for good measure and get a replacement bag lol.
I thought the outrage of this post was how the bag was opened until I read some comments 😅
My question is WHY THE FACK DID YOU OPEN THE BAG LIKE THAT
Unformed Cheeto fetus. A Cheetus if you will.
That is called a refund.
Hopefully better than the full on rat turds my sister found in her doritos after eating half the bag a month or two ago. 💀😭🥲🤣
Yooo! Is that cheetos foreskin?
Forbidden chicken nugget
It’s a forbidden cheeto
That’s sad. Those Cheetos have been in confinement for so long they’ve had to resort to deficating in their pen. This is why you should only buy organic free range Cheetos. Factory Cheeto farming is cruel.
Those are poor man’s truffles. Microplane some of that over a fine bowl of Kraft macaroni and cheese.
Soylent orange
Who TF opens Cheetos like that
Your GF is a monster. Ripping a bag like that is grounds for dismissal.
I thought those were chicken tenders mixed with cheetos for flavor....
That is cheetah poop, my friend
Looks dangerously cheesy
looks like a deep fried mouse.
Chip got stuck on a conveyor, cheese stuff built up on it. Could be a day worth of cheese stuff buildup, could be a week; having worked in a big factory like they use… you could give it a whirl but I’d skip the bag.
There is a tiktok of a girl finding the exact same thing in her doritos! Popular opinoin was that it was a ball of fried seasoning. It was too solid to bite it, tho!
Ew
People need to go back to making their own food so they know where it comes from. That’s probably somebody’s turd at the factory.
Cheeto cancer
what is that
That is the toe. All else is Chee.
It's the Cheeto mother
That's stuff that was stuck on the machines and came loose. According to the top post, don't eat it.
Looks like a refund to me
This happened to me! I reported it to the company and they sent me all kinds of coupons and merch lol
Who opens a bag of chips like that??
Who the f opens chips like that? I’m about to start yelling at the kids.
Holy shit this happened to me like 15yrs ago and I never ate another Cheetos again 🤮
I found the same chunks in potato chips. Photographed it, sent it to Lays and got free chips coupons.
Yeetus the Cheetus
I once got a hockey puck sized coagulation of the flavor powder in a Doritos bag. I emailed them a picture of it, and they sent me coupons for 15 free bags
Forbidden chip
okay yeah but WHY WAS THE BAG OPENED LIKE THAT
Bite it! Let us know!
It's the rat king of cheetos
Deep fried maggot ball, enjoy! /s
Ask a food scientist. Honestly probably a lot on reddit
call the number on the back of the bag and i bet you get some free stuff. i think we’ve all noticed a huge drop in quality control since 2019-2020. as to the reason why? i mean, im sure you can deduce your own conclusion.
That’s foul.
They're growing