Where it is made
Mainly the USA. There were 14 plants across 11 states in the US in 2010.
The process
Cornmeal is pumped through a pneumatic tube from silos hundreds of yards away. Then, a food grade extruder is used, much like this one here. Cornmeal is put into the massive feed hopper. It then slowly goes through the extruder. The heaters slowly melt the cornmeal with help from the turning screw. Once melted, it goes through a shaping die to get the classic Cheetos shape. After this extrusion, it is fried and then left to cool. After the cooling is done, the Cheetos go through a large drum that spray the Cheetos with the desired seasoning. After seasoning, it travels a little longer on another conveyor belt, then goes through packaging which is an automated process. It takes 19 minutes to make a full batch of cheetos, which is why every 30 minutes, a group of people come in to make sure that the cheetos flavour and crunchiness is up to par.
Packaging
This is the structure of the packaging that is used in all Frito-Lay snack packages. It consists of 3 layers, the outer, inner and tie layer. The outer layer consists of a print film and some other polymers. The print film is where the cheetos colorful packaging is printed. The inner layer consists of a sealant film as well as vacuum deposited aluminium. When combined, the sealant film and the vacuum deposited aluminium prevent any air, moisture or light from entering the package. This is why chips bags can last a very long time. Finally, the tie layer joins the outer and inner layer together, creating the very thin packaging of cheetos that can preserve the cheetos for surprisingly long times.
Sustainability
Frito-Lay's Efforts (Positive Aspects)
Frito-Lay installed technology in 2010 to allow them to reuse 75% of the water they use in the manufacturing process. This allowed Frito-Lay to reduce their water usage by 100 million gallons per year. They also launched a program to recycle and reuse food. Instead of sending it to a landfill, they sent it off site for cattle feed. This allowed them to cut their amount of food waste to landfills to less than one percent. In their factories, they also use pneumatic tubes to pump cornmeal. This is good as it creates no pollution.
Frito-Lay installed technology in 2010 to allow them to reuse 75% of the water they use in the manufacturing process. This allowed Frito-Lay to reduce their water usage by 100 million gallons per year. They also launched a program to recycle and reuse food. Instead of sending it to a landfill, they sent it off site for cattle feed. This allowed them to cut their amount of food waste to landfills to less than one percent. In their factories, they also use pneumatic tubes to pump cornmeal. This is good as it creates no pollution.
Machinery (Negative Aspects)
To make cornmeal, electric machines are used. They are called hammer mills. They work very well and don’t need too much maintenance, however, since they use electricity, they do contribute to carbon emissions. It is unclear exactly how much electricity these appliances use, but it is hypothesized that the energy consumption is quite high due to the amount of cheetos made per year. All sorts of machines like fryers, packagers, seasoning sprayers and extruders are used to make cheetos. These too, consume a lot of electricity and create lots of carbon dioxide in the process.
To make cornmeal, electric machines are used. They are called hammer mills. They work very well and don’t need too much maintenance, however, since they use electricity, they do contribute to carbon emissions. It is unclear exactly how much electricity these appliances use, but it is hypothesized that the energy consumption is quite high due to the amount of cheetos made per year. All sorts of machines like fryers, packagers, seasoning sprayers and extruders are used to make cheetos. These too, consume a lot of electricity and create lots of carbon dioxide in the process.