Shoppers comparing fat figures
If you want a savoury maize snack for the afternoon, the fat figure per 100g helps you compare products, while the pack or serving figure describes a particular portion.
Who is comparing these snacks?
Shoppers checking dietary suitability
If you avoid milk or gluten, or choose vegan foods, check the exact variant before comparing its nutrition. Tesco labels its Free From Onion Maize Snack Rings gluten-free, milk-free and vegan; the named Walkers examples have different ingredient and allergen declarations.
Shoppers who read food labels
If front-of-pack wording does not answer your question, compare the nutrition panel and stated portion. In a September–November 2024 Northern Ireland survey of 611 people, the Food Standards Agency and Ipsos Northern Ireland reported that 49% actively used traffic-light labelling when shopping for food. That measures label use, not preference for a particular snack.
What should you check?
Start with dietary requirements, then compare the exact variants per 100g and by the portion you would eat.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Fat figures | Compare fat per 100g for the exact flavour, then check fat per pack or stated serving. Tesco Groceries lists 23.9g per 100g for its Free From onion rings; Walkers UK lists 25g for Monster Munch Pickled Onion and 33g for standard Wotsits Cheese. | I want to compare the snacks on the same basis without treating the lowest figure in this small group as proof of a ‘reduced fat’ claim. |
| Portion size | Read the weight alongside the per-pack or per-serving figure. Walkers UK lists 4.9g fat in a 16g Quavers Cheese pack and 5g in a 20g Monster Munch Pickled Onion pack, although their per-100g figures are 30.8g and 25g respectively. | A small pack may suit the amount I plan to eat, but I do not want its smaller fat total to obscure the per-100g comparison. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Check the current packet for the exact variant. Tesco labels its Free From onion rings gluten-free, wheat-free, milk-free and vegan; standard Wotsits Cheese contains milk, and Monster Munch Pickled Onion includes milk-derived whey permeate and soya protein. | If I avoid particular ingredients, I need a suitable product before flavour or fat figures become deciding factors. |
| Salt | Compare salt per 100g and per portion separately. The named Tesco rings list 1.32g salt per 100g and 0.33g per 25g serving; Walkers UK lists 1.55g and 0.31g per 20g pack for Monster Munch Pickled Onion. | When two fat figures are close, I want to see the salt figures on a comparable basis too. |
| Traffic-light labels | Read the colour indicators alongside the numerical nutrition panel and the portion to which the figures apply. A colour alone does not establish how a different-sized pack compares. | I use labels to compare foods while shopping. In the Food Standards Agency and Ipsos Northern Ireland’s September–November 2024 survey of 611 people, 49% said they actively used traffic-light labelling when shopping for food; this was not a measure of maize-snack preferences. |
| Claim wording | Look for any ‘reduced fat’ claim on the exact product and its stated comparison. GOV.UK says nutrition claims must follow applicable rules; a difference between two nutrition panels is not itself confirmation of a claim. | I want to distinguish a product’s labelled claim from my own comparison of named snacks. |
Common comparison mistakes
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Assuming baked means reduced fat
Walkers UK describes standard Wotsits Cheese as baked, yet lists 33g fat per 100g, compared with 25g for its Monster Munch Pickled Onion. The cooking description does not replace the nutrition figures.
Compare the exact flavours per 100g, then check the pack or serving you expect to eat.
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Comparing only the amount per pack
Walkers UK lists 4.9g fat in a 16g Quavers Cheese pack and 5g in a 20g Monster Munch Pickled Onion pack. Their per-100g figures tell a different part of the story: 30.8g and 25g respectively.
Use per-100g figures for a like-for-like comparison and pack figures for your intended portion.
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Assuming maize snacks have the same dietary suitability
Ingredient and allergen declarations differ between the named products. For example, standard Wotsits Cheese contains milk, while Tesco labels its Free From Onion Maize Snack Rings milk-free and gluten-free.
Check the packet for the exact variant and your dietary requirements before comparing nutrition figures.
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Calling a lower figure a ‘reduced fat’ claim
A product can have less fat per 100g than another named product without that comparison establishing a regulated nutrition claim. GOV.UK states that nutrition claims must follow applicable rules.
Describe the measured difference between named products, and check the exact packaging if a labelled claim matters to your choice.
Brand and product references
Tesco Free From
The Onion Maize Snack Rings are a 150g bag with a stated 25g serving and dietary-suitability information on Tesco Groceries.
- Tesco labels this product gluten-free, wheat-free, milk-free and vegan, and lists 23.9g fat per 100g.
- Its stated 25g serving contains 6.0g fat. Neither the baked format nor the free-from labels establish a ‘reduced fat’ claim.
Monster Munch
Walkers UK lists the Pickled Onion variant in a 20g pack, giving shoppers both per-pack and per-100g figures.
- The Pickled Onion listing gives 5g fat per 20g pack and 25g per 100g.
- Its ingredients include milk-derived whey permeate and hydrolysed soya protein; check suitability against the current pack.
Wotsits
Walkers UK describes standard Wotsits Cheese as a baked maize snack.
- The Cheese listing states a 22.5g pack, with nutrition figures available per pack and per 100g.
- Walkers UK lists 7.4g fat per pack and 33g per 100g for this variant. It contains milk.
Quavers
Quavers Cheese is a small-pack comparator, rather than a strict maize-based choice: its ingredient list begins with potato starch.
- Walkers UK lists 4.9g fat in the 16g Cheese pack.
- The same listing gives 30.8g fat per 100g. Check its ingredient and allergen declarations if dietary suitability matters.
Maize snack options on Joybuy
These options include crunchy corn snacks, popcorn, maize puffs and a sharing-bag snack for an afternoon break. Compare each exact pack’s nutrition and allergen label rather than applying the figures for a different flavour or product.
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Love Corn Crunchy Snacks Sea Salt 115 g
For a sea-salt corn snack in a 115 g pack, compare the current label’s fat per 100g with the portion you intend to eat. Check the allergen warning if you avoid nuts or peanuts.
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Walkers Wotsits Crunchy Really Meaty Corn Puffs 115g
This Really Meaty variant comes in a 115g sharing bag. Check its own nutrition and allergen label: figures for standard Wotsits Cheese do not describe this flavour.
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Propercorn Lightly Sea Salted Popcorn 6x10g
Six 10g popcorn bags provide a defined pack size for an afternoon portion. Compare fat per 100g as well as per bag, and check the packet’s allergen declaration if you avoid milk.
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Walkers Monster Munch Variety 12x20g
The multipack contains twelve 20g bags. Check the nutrition and allergen label for each flavour you would eat; the figures for Pickled Onion alone should not be applied to the whole variety pack.
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Doritos Chilli Heatwave 180g
For this 180g bag, compare the exact variant’s fat per 100g and decide what portion you would eat. Check its current allergen declaration before choosing it for a dietary requirement.
Frequently asked questions
Does ‘baked not fried’ mean a maize snack has less fat?
Not necessarily. Walkers UK describes standard Wotsits Cheese as baked but lists 33g fat per 100g, against 25g for Monster Munch Pickled Onion. Compare the nutrition panel for the exact variant rather than relying on the cooking description.
Is a snack ‘reduced fat’ if its fat figure is lower than another snack’s?
A lower figure between two named products does not, on its own, establish a ‘reduced fat’ claim. GOV.UK says nutrition claims must follow applicable rules. Check whether the exact product makes that claim instead of treating your own comparison as its label.
Which named maize snack is labelled milk-free and gluten-free?
Tesco Groceries labels its Free From Onion Maize Snack Rings milk-free and gluten-free, as well as wheat-free and vegan. Standard Wotsits Cheese contains milk, and Monster Munch Pickled Onion includes a milk-derived ingredient; check the current packet for the variant you buy.
Should I compare fat per 100g or per pack?
Use both: per 100g compares products on the same weight basis, while per pack describes a specified amount you might eat. Walkers UK lists 30.8g fat per 100g but 4.9g per 16g pack for Quavers Cheese, compared with 25g per 100g and 5g per 20g pack for Monster Munch Pickled Onion.
Are Quavers Cheese a maize-based alternative?
Not for a strict maize-based choice. The Quavers Cheese ingredient list begins with potato starch and also includes rice and soya flour, so check its ingredients rather than treating its small pack as a maize-snack substitute.