Top 20 Disgusting Junk Food FAILS

While this particular item fails in the taste category, that’s actually something of a secondary issue. Puting the chalky flavor aside, the bigger problem with candy cigarettes is their promotion of smoking to youth. One study even indicated that 6th graders who consumed the item were more likely to take up actual smoking - twice as likely actually. Thankfully, these days candy cigarettes are banned in several places around the world. If you’re somewhere where they’re allowed though, you’re now more likely to see them marketed under different names, with less of a striking resemblance to cigarettes. They still don’t taste very good though.

The name is a little misleading because technically regular Doritos are three dimensional. But in the 1990s, the company decided to emphasize each dimension and introduced 3D Doritos. Basically, it was just a puffed version of their regular chips. If a calzone is just a folded over pizza then this is a Doritos calzone. But instead of being filled with cheese, sauce and pepperoni, these chips were filled with air. By the early 2000s, the gimmick had worn off, and 3D Doritos were discontinued in most places. However, there have always been fans of the item. And they got what they wanted in 2020 when Frito-Lay brought them back - this time as Doritos 3D Crunch!

No, we didn’t spell “taco” wrong. These are Tako Chips, a Korean chip designed to look like little octopi. That sounds cute right? Well, what if we told you that the chips look like little octopi because they are octopus flavored? The brand’s website states that “Children are especially attracted to the Tako shape.” But interestingly enough, they don’t make any mention of whether or not kids are also attracted to the taste. Now, there’s gotta be enough grown-ups (or maybe people in general) who enjoy the flavor for them to keep making it, but we understand the skepticism.

If Gatorgum sounds like a portmanteau of “Gatorade” and “gum”, that’s because, well, it is. As you might imagine, given the Gatorade part, Gatorgum was marketed as a hydrating product that, as it said on the package, “Helps Quench Thirst”. Hey, you know what else is really good at quenching thirst… actual Gatorade. We’re not sure why we’d want to chew gum when we’re thirsty when we could just drink something and quench and hydrate properly. Either because people felt the same, or for other reasons, Gatorgum has reportedly been gone for some time now.

You definitely know you’re in for something different when your fast food order comes with instructions. That was the case with Burger King’s 2002 creation, Shake 'Em Up Fries. Throw your fries into the bag, add in the dehydrated cheese powder, shake, and eat. We assume there were a few steps they forgot to mention though, like cleaning up the powder or figuring out how to get rid of those orange fingers. While we’re not sure what the ingredients were in the “cheese”, it kind of looks like what you get in a box of Kraft Dinner. Sure, that bright orange stuff is awesome when mixed to make mac & cheese, but have you ever tried eating it raw? Exactly!

It feels like there's a whole segment of the candy market whose sole goal is to come up with different ways for kids to pour pure sugar (powdered or liquid) into their mouths. One way they came up with was the wax soda candy. For those unaware, these are little replica soda bottles made of wax. To get to the sugar (liquid in this case) one would rip – or more likely bite – off the cap and pour that sugary goodness right into our mouth. The “wax” itself is supposedly food grade, so you can munch on it (but nobody should be swallowing it). That probably makes the whole thing even more disgusting.

Here’s one for anybody out there who’s always wanted to have soda for breakfast. A&W Root Beer and Crush Orange. Those are the two flavors that Pop-Tarts introduced back in 2016. If you ever felt you weren’t getting enough artificial flavors and processed sugars first thing in the morning, soda flavored Pop-Tarts were here to help. Although the taste might be a concern, given the reported comments by some taste testers back when the product was launched. “Super sweet and weird” and “revolting” are not how one generally wants to hear their food described.

No, these aren’t chips made from hot dogs. But they do taste like hot dogs, with relish and mustard, apparently. For many of us, eating a hot dog is one of the most enjoyable experiences there is. And who doesn’t love adding in a serving of chips on the side? That’s practically perfect! But to get rid of the actual hot dog and pack all of that “flavor” into the potato chip? Well that just doesn’t sound as enjoyable. Still, that’s not to say we wouldn’t try it if a bag was sitting right there in front of us…

The 2014 Lay’s potato chip competition to create a new flavor came down to four finalists: Wasabi Ginger, Mango Salsa, Cheddar Bacon Mac & Cheese, and Cappuccino. Now, while three of those four flavors sound enticing, Cappuccino isn’t one of them. And hey, we love coffee as much as the next person – it just seems like a weird choice! And it turns out we aren’t the only ones who thought so. Not only did Cappuccino not win the competition, some of the words people used to characterize the flavor included "NASTY" and "gross." For the curious among you, Wasabi Ginger was the big winner that year.

Unlike peanut butter and chocolate – which are delicious on their own but arguably even better together – Swedish fish and Oreos just don’t work in combination. At least, they don’t mix in the way Oreo tried to make them in 2016. We’d say that the unnaturally red color is enough to cause ingestion hesitation. But if not, then the Swedish fish-flavored cream that was apparently characterized by one reviewer as “sticky, chewy, and dare I say... slimy”, should be. Oreo has said that they like to “create unexpected and unique flavor combinations that people may never have thought were possible.” In this case, though, it may be one that most people never wanted. Don’t worry, it was just a limited-edition thing.

It’s amazing how far some companies will go just so they can plaster their food with healthy phrases like “sugar-free” or “zero calories”. Unfortunately, changing a tried and true recipe is risky business, as Frito-Lay learned the hard way with their “WOW! Chips” lineup. In 1998, Frito-Lay made special bags of Lays, Doritos, and Ruffles that were fat-free, but this supposed benefit came at an immense cost. Since the chips were made with Olestra instead of regular cooking oil, customers not only digested fewer calories than regular Lays, but also began suffering from stomach cramps and diarrhea. Around 2004, Frito-Lay renamed the lineup as “Light” with a slightly new formula.

The Hubba Bubba brand has certainly put out some strange products beyond their standard gum. Some have really resonated with consumers, like Bubble Tape, but the Hubba Bubba Bubble Jug… not so much. These miniature containers housed a powder that would turn into gum when chewed. In other words, it was kinda like a Frankenstein Pixy Stix. What makes the product offputting is that you’re basically chewing pure sugar to the point where it becomes a homogenous chewy substance. And while the gum that you wind up with is basically the same old Hubba Bubba, that initial mouthful of chunky powder is a serious turnoff.

Don’t get us wrong - we can enjoy a frozen TV dinner every now and again, but Kid Cuisine has always been a guessing game when it comes to meals. As if the serving size isn’t enough to give you buyer’s remorse, a common problem with the meals was the fact that the food so often ended up leaving their designated areas. Show of hands: how often did you find part of your melted brownie mixed with your corn or macaroni and cheese? The commercials may have shown steamy, sizeable meals, but what we actually got were poorly packaged products that were often ruined before we got to the microwave.

How do you like your chocolate bars? Do you like them loaded with peanuts or crispy rice? Drizzled in caramel? Coating cookie bits? Well then, Tayto Milk Chocolate Bars are NOT the decadent sweet you’ve been searching for. While most chocolate companies offer a variety of products in which chocolate is combined with peanut butter, wafers, or other candy, Tayto chooses to load its chocolate bars with its own cheese and onion crisps. We’re no stranger to sweet and savory treats (like Ben & Jerry’s Late Night Snack ice cream), but chocolate with chips that taste like cheese and onions? Count us out.

Soda, soup, tuna, beans, sliced pineapple… these are all foods that come in cans. And now, thanks to Germany’s Adventure Company (among others), we can add cheeseburgers to that list. To enjoy the burger (although ‘enjoy’ might not be the best word) you can either prep it in a hot pan or by using hot water, and chow down afterwards. The company’s website does sport some positive reviews of the item – dubbed the Trekking Burger. However, other reported comments like: "the greyest meat ever" and "pretty much like a dog-food patty" will keep us from rushing out to try this one.

We love a good serving of mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce as much as the next person, but did we really need them in the form of a potato chip? Pringles certainly thought so. The chip brand once launched a line of flavors dubbed “Restaurant Cravers”, focusing on classic entrees and appetizers like Onion Blossom and Mexican Layered Dip. Unfortunately, Mozzarella Sticks & Marinara doesn’t translate nearly as well to chip form. The issue? The joy of mozzarella sticks is rooted in texture. Why disrespect the cheesy gooey nature of this timeless appetizer by turning it into a powder-coated chip? That’s just blasphemy!

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had their faces slapped on a wealth of food products over the years. From cereal to cookies (and even Chef Boyardee), marketing efforts seem to suggest that the iconic turtles are fond of more than just pizza. However, not every TMNT-endorsed product is created equal, with one of the worst offenders being Hostess’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pies. While the vanilla pudding filling is enough to sell any kid, one look at the pie outside of the packaging will make you question what exactly you’re putting in your mouth. They just couldn’t make them turtle shaped cupcakes, huh?

Speaking of Hostess, the company behind Twinkies has gone through some bizarre flavors over the past few decades, especially when it comes to cross-promotional products. We can tolerate flavors like Orange Creme Pop, Peppermint, or even Pumpkin Spice, but there was something about their Ghostbusters Twinkies that really threw us off. In addition to a White Fudge Marshmallow flavor, Hostess put out Key Lime Slime Twinkies as a promotional deal for the 2016 “Ghostbusters” reboot. We suppose the Key Lime flavor fits with Twinkies’ cake-y nature, but something about that green filling made these snacks seriously unappealing - and oddly familiar. It just looks wrong!

Most people agree that ketchup is already perfect in its own right. Whether you're using it for your fries, burgers, or a massive plate of crispy tater tots, ketchup arguably makes everything taste better! But what happens when you decide to mess with an already-winning formula? You wind up with the sort of failed product line that Heinz had on their hands with the EZ Squirt Ketchup in the early 2000s. For a limited time, kids could drizzle a rainbow of ketchup on their food. Unfortunately, the color just made the food look less appetizing (to adults, at least). Yeah, it was still ketchup, but its appearance did not sit well with customers.

YEP! We knew something felt off about those Ghostbusters Twinkies, and this was the reason! In 2001, dozens of food companies had their own cross-promotional deal to make disgusting “Shrek”-themed products, but of them all, Shrek Twinkies were arguably the worst. For starters, the green filling was unsettling, and it didn’t help that the front of the box proudly advertised “Ogre Green Creamy Filling”. If you were one of the poor, unfortunate souls who bought a package, you probably realized your mistake after opening one of these foul sweets and discovered the Twinkie looked worse than what was on the box. And to think they brought it back to promote “Shrek 2”...