RResidents in Japan

Japanese Cheetos are wrong!

Wow, are Cheetos in Japan just absolutely terrible or what. Why do they use a different recipe?

I have also seen Flaming Hot and Flaming Hot Lime and both recipe here are also totally different from the vastly superior American versions.

What’s the deal? (Japan)

35 comments

  1. I saw Cheetos listed on the shop I use online and was debating getting them. I’m not able to see the backside of the packaging or the ingredients list there though.

    Are you able to check the packaging and read what’s in it? I know a lot of chip/crisps snacks here have artificial sweeteners (for some godforsaken reason).

  2. Yup. They’re too sweet. Totally different flavor. Found my favorite, Jalapeno Cheddar, and was SOOOO disappointed. At least my friends back home know what to put in care packages.

  3. Cheetos are absolute garbage. You are just more used to your particular flavor of garbage.

  7. It’s gotten a lot better, but when I first came here a lot of stores, at least in my area, *only* had salt flavored Cheetos. As in, no cheese. *It’s in the name.*

  8. Most American snacks use a different recipe for their international versions because the American recipe doesn’t meet food safety standards in other countries. Some aren’t available at all for the same reasoning, like Cool Ranch Doritos.

    Cheetos may or may not be using a different recipe in Japan because of ingredients that are illegal here.

    Edit 2: Cheetos in the US contain Yellow 6 which is banned in Japan, so the recipe is definitely different here than it is in the US. I’m not sure what other ingredients are changed or missing, I would need to compare directly.

    Edit: some people seem to think that I am saying Japan has stricter food standards that the US. This may or may not be the case, but that is not what my statement is at all. My comment is that many of the ingredients used in various American snacks are banned in various countries around the world (check the ingredients lists of different versions of all the popular snacks and compare for yourself) and that if a snack uses a different recipe here there is a chance that is the reasoning (although it could also be for many other reasons).

    Anyone saying that many of the ingredients used in American snacks are not banned in many countries is simply a liar. Many of the dyes and flavorings are outright illegal in many countries. Yes there are also snacks which change their recipe to fit to local tastes (Pringles in Japan copying Chip Star is a good example of this) but that is not what I’m talking about at all. If you want to see proof, compare the recipes. I’ll give you one example to start you off: strawberry poptarts. In the US they use red 40, yellow 6, and blue 1. Synthetic colors are illegal in the U.K. because of links to hyperactivity and inattention in children and all of these ingredients (and more!) are completely absent from the UK version of strawberry poptarts and that recipe instead opts for more natural flavorings and colorings. They also use real sugar as opposed to the high fructose corn syrup, the same is true for many other food items like Heins Tomato Ketchup.

    I may have been mistaken regarding the specifics of Cool Ranch Doritos, but I can confirm that the orange hue of Doritos comes from the use of Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Red 40 and those ingredients are illegal in many countries around the world so ingredients have to be changed in those countries or the snack doesn’t enter the market.

    I’ll give anyone with free time some homework. When you buy Doritos here at import stores, why is it the international version which is bagged in Japan and not the actual American version? Are there any differences in ingredients? I genuinely do not know, but I’m willing to bet there are.

  10. I know. I’m not from America and it tastes completely different from my country too. Why even call it Cheetos when it’s so different? I was happy to find it on Amazon and then it was such a waste.

  13. I must have forgotten what original Cheetos tasted like because I don’t even pay attention to them anymore. The generic cheesy conbini alternatives are preferable to me.

  14. Should just import Cheese Twisties from Australia, because everyone knows they’re superior.

  15. make a friend on a base or visit jolly’s in ebisu – they occasionally have proper american cheetos.

    the lime flamin hot cheetos ive recently seen in family mart are actually not too bad. they taste very different from the american version but are a step up from the regular japanese cheetos.

  18. I love how this thread is a mixture of people who trash Cheetos in general out of hand (and America), others offer their country preference, and of course, yes those who know Japanese Cheetos indeed suck. *High five*!

    Keep it up.

  19. Cheetos and pringles I’ve found from conbini all seem to be halah. From Malaysia or Indonesia usually

  20. Dude I was so hyped when I saw the flamin hot and flamin hot lime Cheetos at my local conbini only to be met with extreme wtf is this once I ate them :/

  21. I feel alone in liking the Japan Cheetos. They briefly made a flavor that was extra sweet and I liked that even more!

  22. I had Dominoes one night in Shinjuku, it was the worst pizza I’ve ever had I think, lol

  23. I have no idea what real cheetos are meant to taste like, but the big packs you can buy at Amica (アミカ) are awesome and I find myself addicted to their cheesiness.

  24. I actually really like the Flaming Hot Lime, possibly more than the American Flaming Hot

  27. I haven’t had American Cheetos in decades … what’s different about Japanese ones?

  28. Flaming hot take (heh) but I grew up eating Korean cheetos (which is similar to Japanese cheetos) so when I had the American one it tastes like horrible artificial cheese lol.

    But I stopped eating as much nowadays since cheetos is a calories bomb 🙁

  29. If there’s one thing I’ve learned quickly in my 4 months here, it’s to treat all cheese-based products with a healthy dose of suspicion

  32. I think there’s a market for flaming hot Cheetos. The way the atomic-spicy Korean noodles are popular

  34. My theory is: They probably have a panel of food engineers who did surveys/taste tests with Japanese testers. They preferred the “JP” recipe since it’s adjusted for a Japanese “flavor”. Also, I’m sure they had to adjust things slightly due to a lack of the same ingredients where ever they manufactured it.

  35. I can say all international snack brands in Japan are disappointing, totally taste different. Better to eat local brands with japanese flavours.

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