In Keeping Its Cheetos Pure, Frito-Lay Sees Supplies Dwindle

DALLAS — Cheetos lovers, prepare for a crunch.

Supplies of the cheese-flavored snack are down by as much as 10% as maker Frito-Lay Inc. attempts to keep genetically engineered corn out of the product.

Frito-Lay is running thousands of tests a month to make sure its supplies don’t contain the StarLink variety of bioengineered corn. The Cheetos supply problem is expected to be remedied in two weeks, company officials said.

StarLink, which was genetically modified to produce its own pesticide, is not approved for human consumption because of unresolved questions about its potential to cause allergic reactions.