Those Colored Circles On Food Packages Exist For A Reason (Just Not For You)

There's a lot of useful information on food packaging that can help you decide which to buy and which food labels to avoid altogether. However, if you look closely at a bag of your favorite store-bought tortilla chips, you might notice something strange at the bottom. A series of colorful circles that seem to have no rhyme or reason to their existence. Are they supposed to communicate nutritional information, or are they some secret code that, once solved, will grant someone a lifetime supply of snacks? While that last theory would be pretty awesome, unfortunately, these circles serve a much more utilitarian purpose.

Known as printer's block colors or process control patches, these dots act as a sort of quality control measure during the printing process for food packages. They signal printers the colors that should be used and inform technicians of errors if the colors or consistencies are off. According to Sonya.Gonzalezmier on TikTok, the colors of the dots correspond to the colors that are layered together to make the packaging. If the colors of these control dots are off, technicians will know the packaging color is wrong. You'll usually notice dots in black, magenta, cyan, and yellow, the primary colors used in four-color process printing. Several different hues can be created from these colors. However, if a brand is known for a specific shade, some packages will have additional color circles, such as various shades of orange for Cheetos bags.

After learning the true meaning of the mysterious, colorful dots on food packages, you'll probably be eager to check them out. But, if you grab a bag of your favorite Trader Joe's snacks only to find no colorful dots awaiting you, don't worry; this doesn't mean the bag is somehow defective.

While the colors are meant to help technicians and printers produce uniform food packaging, there isn't a rule that states they have to be used. Some companies might choose to cut them out during the packaging process, or they can forgo them altogether as it doesn't impact the quality or safety of the food.

Still, despite having no real significance to consumers, knowing what the colorful dots on food packaging mean is a neat little trivia fact you can always impress your friends with. Plus, it gives you a bit more of a deeper understanding of just how much work goes into creating a bag of your favorite snacks!