# List of snack foods
Snack foods are foods eaten during snacks, the eating occasions between or in place of regular meals, as distinct from the act of snacking itself[1](https://lod.nal.usda.gov/nalt/en/page/480). A 1757 Webster's definition quoted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization describes a snack as "a light meal eaten between regular meals"[2](https://www.fao.org/4/i2474e/i2474e00.pdf). The category spans salty chips and crackers, candy and chocolate bars, cookies, fruit snacks, yogurt products, nuts, and meat snacks, sold both packaged and as street food[2](https://www.fao.org/4/i2474e/i2474e00.pdf) • [3](https://apps.datassential.com/snap/ArticlesDownload/DownloadReportPdfFileSample?reportId=517).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Definition | Foods eaten during snacks; the USDA thesaurus distinguishes the products from "snacks", the small amounts of food eaten between larger meals[1](https://lod.nal.usda.gov/nalt/en/page/480) |
| Early packaged examples | Oreo cookies, introduced in 1912 to compete with Hydrox (1910); the processed snack industry accelerated after World War I[4](https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/most-popular-snack-foods-last-10-decades-slideshow/) |
| Fritos origin | C. E. Doolin of San Antonio bought the recipe and hand-making equipment from Gustavo Olguin in 1932; by 1950 Fritos sold nationwide[5](https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/food/online/new-and-improved/snack-nation) |
| Product proliferation | In the 1960s and 1970s about 250 new high-calorie snack foods reached US shelves each year; by the end of the 1980s the figure was closer to 2,000[6](https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2024/09/snack-food-meals/679722/) |
| Largest US segment | Potato chips generated an estimated $12.3 billion, 25.6% of US snack food production revenue, in 2025[7](https://content.ibisworld.com/media/mlup352h/ibisworld-snack-food-production-in-the-us-industry-report.pdf) |
| Nutrition guidance | The WHO advises limiting free sugars to under 10% of daily energy, salt to under 5 g per day, and the consumption of salty snacks[8](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet) |
## Definition and classification
There is no formal classification of snack foods. A review in the food-science literature states that the most accurate ways to classify them are by the manufacturing processes used, the raw materials used, their taste, and their nutritional quality[9](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/snack). Industry product-classification codes group snack chips, such as potato chips, tortilla chips, and corn chips, as a distinct category[10](https://bernardcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Bernard_Center_IWG_Paper_September_2011.pdf).
The FAO distinguishes snack foods from street food, noting that snack foods tend to have lower nutritional value than street food, though the range is wide: some snacks, for example beans and nuts, provide significant amounts of protein and fat[2](https://www.fao.org/4/i2474e/i2474e00.pdf). In Japanese usage, スナックフーズ (sunakku fūzu) is an umbrella term covering おやつ (oyatsu, between-meal treats), おつまみ (otsumami, accompaniments to drinks), and 軽食 (keishoku, light meals)[11](https://www.jasca.jp/information/snack.php).
## Notable examples
**Salty snacks.** Fritos corn chips transformed a Mexican street food, fritas, or "little fried things", into a mass-produced snack staple. C. E. Doolin applied [Henry Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-ford)'s assembly-line methods to their production, and his mother Daisy Dean developed recipes from Fritos chili pie to Fritos chocolate cookies[5](https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/food/online/new-and-improved/snack-nation). The brand's mascots tracked mid-century advertising: the cowboy Frito Kid gave way in 1967 to the Frito Bandito, a "Mexican bandit" stereotype character retired in 1971 after public complaints[5](https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/food/online/new-and-improved/snack-nation).
**Sweet and convenience snacks.** Oreo cookies, introduced in 1912, competed with the earlier [Hydrox](https://www.edgepedia.org/hydrox) biscuit of 1910, which many people now assume was the imitator[4](https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/most-popular-snack-foods-last-10-decades-slideshow/). [Kit Kat](https://www.edgepedia.org/kit-kat) was the first candy bar marketed around sharing and the first to gain a global following, launching in Europe and the United States before entering Australia, Asia, and Africa[12](https://time.com/8195/13-most-influential-candy-bars-of-all-time/).
**Postwar American introductions.** After World War II, experiments including [Pop-Tarts](https://www.edgepedia.org/pop-tarts), Ruffles, Pringles, Doritos, Funyuns, Starburst, and Gatorade were highly successful, alongside Hunt's Snack Pack pudding, first packaged in an aluminum pull-tab can[13](https://www.bonappetit.com/restaurants-travel/article/a-history-of-american-snack-foods-from-waffle-cones-to-doritos).
**General Mills snack timeline.** The company's published history records Nature Valley granola bars (Honey 'n Oats) in the 1970s, Fruit Roll-Ups and Pop Secret in the 1980s, Pizza Rolls and Dunkaroos in the 1990s, and Gardetto's, Chex Mix, Fiber One, Fruit by the Foot, and Go-Gurt among 2000s packages. Go-Gurt, introduced in 1999, packaged yogurt for children to carry[14](https://www.generalmills.com/-/media/project/gmi/corporate/corporate-master/files/about-us/history/150-history-book.pdf?hash=FDB237997730CA6101D83C8980ED8BB0&rev=54dc086a5e5e4bd389a83850df1cbc28). The company later acquired Food Should Taste Good, a maker of all-natural tortilla chips, in 2012, and Annie's, a natural and organic foods producer, as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2014[14](https://www.generalmills.com/-/media/project/gmi/corporate/corporate-master/files/about-us/history/150-history-book.pdf?hash=FDB237997730CA6101D83C8980ED8BB0&rev=54dc086a5e5e4bd389a83850df1cbc28).
## Growth of the American snack industry
Between 1950 and 2000, the United States became what the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History calls a nation of snackers, as manufacturers introduced packaged snacks catering to cravings for sugar, salt, and fat; by the 1980s people consumed snacks at home, work, school, in the car, and on the sidewalk[5](https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/food/online/new-and-improved/snack-nation).
The late 1970s and early 1980s started a snack boom that, according to a 2024 Atlantic history, never abated. Loosened television-advertising restrictions let cartoon characters promote sugary cereals; nutrition rebranding recast snacking as healthful "grazing"; grocery consolidation shifted supply from small regional manufacturers to national companies with bigger advertising budgets and lower prices; and more women entering the workforce left less time in the kitchen. The car cup holder arrived with the minivan in 1983[6](https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2024/09/snack-food-meals/679722/). By the mid-1990s familiar after-school foods had been repackaged as snacks: pizza bagels became Bagel Bites and peanut-butter sandwiches became [Uncrustables](https://www.edgepedia.org/uncrustables)[6](https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2024/09/snack-food-meals/679722/).
## Nutrition context
Snack foods appear in dietary guidance mainly as items to limit. The World Health Organization recommends that adults limit salt intake to less than 5 g per day, explicitly lists limiting salty snacks among the ways to reduce it, and notes that in many countries most dietary salt comes from processed foods including salty snacks[8](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet). Free sugars should stay below 10% of total daily energy intake, about 50 g for a person consuming 2,000 calories per day[8](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet). Industrially produced trans fat, found in pre-packaged snacks such as cookies, biscuits, and wafers, should be avoided[8](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet).
## References
1. [Snack foods, NAL Agricultural Thesaurus (NALT 480), USDA National Agricultural Library](https://lod.nal.usda.gov/nalt/en/page/480)
2. [Selling street and snack foods, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations](https://www.fao.org/4/i2474e/i2474e00.pdf)
3. [Snack food keynote report, Datassential](https://apps.datassential.com/snap/ArticlesDownload/DownloadReportPdfFileSample?reportId=517)
4. [The Most Popular Snack Foods Of The Last 10 Decades, The Daily Meal](https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/most-popular-snack-foods-last-10-decades-slideshow/)
5. [Snack Nation, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution](https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/food/online/new-and-improved/snack-nation)
6. [How Snacks Took Over American Life, The Atlantic (2024)](https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2024/09/snack-food-meals/679722/)
7. [Snack Food Production in the US Industry Report, IBISWorld](https://content.ibisworld.com/media/mlup352h/ibisworld-snack-food-production-in-the-us-industry-report.pdf)
8. [Healthy diet fact sheet, World Health Organization](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet)
9. [Snack, an overview, ScienceDirect Topics](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/snack)
10. [IWG food category definitions, Bernard Center](https://bernardcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Bernard_Center_IWG_Paper_September_2011.pdf)
11. [スナックフーズの魅力, 日本スナック・シリアルフーズ協会 (Japan Snack and Cereal Foods Association)](https://www.jasca.jp/information/snack.php)
12. [The 13 Most Influential Candy Bars of All Time, Time](https://time.com/8195/13-most-influential-candy-bars-of-all-time/)
13. [A History of American Snack Foods, From Waffle Cones to Doritos, Bon Appétit](https://www.bonappetit.com/restaurants-travel/article/a-history-of-american-snack-foods-from-waffle-cones-to-doritos)
14. [General Mills 150-year history book](https://www.generalmills.com/-/media/project/gmi/corporate/corporate-master/files/about-us/history/150-history-book.pdf?hash=FDB237997730CA6101D83C8980ED8BB0&rev=54dc086a5e5e4bd389a83850df1cbc28)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Food, cooking and hospitality › Dishes, foods, and foodstuffs › Snacks, finger foods, and street-food dishes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license