Products · Snacks · Pip's Heirloom Snacks
Pip's Sea Salt Mini Popcorn, 4.5 oz bags (4-pack)
Reader ratings
Heirloom popcorn, avocado oil, Himalayan pink salt and rosemary extract on the maker’s page. Retailers still stock an older sunflower-oil bag. No metals test, and Lead Safe Mama avoids snacks with Himalayan salt.
Best for Popcorn eaters who want a bagged one fried in avocado oil.
- Our rating
- Good (3.7 of 5)
- Price range
- Mid-range
- Size
- 4 bags of 4.5 oz
- Made in
- Not stated; the maker says heirloom seed grown by family farmers
approx. $18 for four 4.5 oz bags ($1 an ounce)
See it on Pip's Heirloom Snacks’s site → (opens in a new tab)We are not affiliated with Pip's Heirloom Snacks. This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.
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Your review
Reviews are personal experiences, not research, and they never change our quality ratings. Every review is read by our team before it appears.
How we evaluated it
How it scores Our rating, metric by metric
- Ingredients 25% of the rating 5 of 5
Four ingredients on the maker’s page: popcorn, avocado oil, Himalayan pink sea salt and rosemary extract as a preservative; all foods, none artificial.
- Fats 15% of the rating 5 of 5
Avocado oil, not a refined seed oil.
- Sugar & salt 20% of the rating 3 of 5
No sugar ingredient, but we did not see a label for the avocado-oil recipe; retailers list 145 to 160 mg of sodium per 1 oz serving for the earlier sunflower-oil bag, so salt is unchecked here.
- Independent testing 15% of the rating 2 of 5
Untested scores 2 at most: no independent metals result found, and Lead Safe Mama says it avoids snacks with Himalayan salt, which this one lists.
- Trust 10% of the rating 3 of 5
No openFDA recall found; a 2020 Prop 65 acrylamide notice named Pip's Cheddar crackers, a different product.
- Value 15% of the rating 3 of 5
$4.50 a 4.5 oz bag, $1 an ounce.
The rating, 3.7 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank snacks and our standard.
What’s in it Every ingredient, in label order
- Popcorn
- Avocado oil
- Himalayan pink sea salt
- Rosemary extract (preservative)
Who tested it What each test found, and who paid for it
- Independent None found November 2026
No lab has published a metals or acrylamide result for this popcorn that we could find. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Who paid, and why it matters
- Independent The tester took no money from the maker for it: a consumer group, a journalist, a university or a regulator.
- Paid certification An outside lab or certifier tested or listed it, and the maker paid for that.
- Maker’s own test A lab report or certificate of analysis the maker commissioned and published.
A certification is a floor, not a verdict: it checks what its program checks and nothing else. We weigh tests by someone with no stake in the result most.
What people ask Worries raised online and elsewhere, and what we found
- Is the oil really avocado oil?
- The maker's page (opens in a new tab) lists heirloom popcorn, sea salt and avocado oil. We found no independent check of the oil.
- Is the salt a lead risk?
- The maker’s ingredient list says Himalayan pink sea salt. Lead Safe Mama’s snack guide (opens in a new tab) says it avoids snacks with Himalayan salt because it is also high in lead, and links its salt tests. That is one tester’s view, and no one has tested this popcorn, so we count it as a reason for the 2 on testing, not as a finding.
- Is the bag in the shop the avocado-oil recipe?
- Not always. The maker’s page lists avocado oil. On 2026-11-06 Kroger’s listing (popcorn, sunflower oil, Himalayan pink sea salt, rosemary extract; sodium 160 mg) and Whole Foods’ listing (sunflower oil; sodium 145 mg) still showed an earlier sunflower-oil recipe. Check the bag’s ingredient line before you buy.
- Does popcorn contain acrylamide or metals?
- Not tested. A 2020 Prop 65 notice (opens in a new tab) for acrylamide named Pip's cheddar crackers, not the popcorn. See our acrylamide guide.
- Any recalls?
- None found in openFDA's food enforcement search, 2026-11-05.
Why we chose it What put it on our list
- Four named ingredients and avocado oil as the only fat, on the maker’s current page.
- No sugar added, per the label list.
Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy
- Sodium per serving is not in the page text, and the salt is Himalayan pink salt.
- Shops we opened (Kroger, Whole Foods) listed the older sunflower-oil bag, so the avocado-oil version may be sold only by the maker for now.
- No independent test of any kind.
- We found no store selling the avocado-oil bag, so the maker’s own site is the only store listed.
What to know Details worth knowing first
Pip's mini popcorn, on the maker's page, is heirloom corn, avocado oil, Himalayan pink salt and a rosemary extract preservative, a shorter and better list than most bagged popcorn, many of which use sunflower or canola oil.
We could not find a test for metals or acrylamide in it. Lead Safe Mama says it avoids snacks with Himalayan salt, and the maker's page gives no sodium in text, so the salt is unchecked. Shops we opened still sell an earlier sunflower-oil bag, so read the label. The only mark on file is a 2020 acrylamide notice for a different Pip's product, a cracker.
Popcorn is a whole grain, so it fits as a snack better than most chips.
What we checked Each claim, and how sure we are of it
| What we checked | What we found |
|---|---|
| Short ingredient list, nothing artificial Maker’s claim | Three ingredients. |
| Better fats Maker’s claim | Avocado oil. |
| Salt and metals Not verified | Himalayan pink sea salt, per the maker; no metals result for this popcorn. |
| Sodium per serving Not verified | Not stated in the page text. |
What the labels mean
- Verified We opened an independent record that confirms it: a certifier’s listing, a regulator’s list or a lab report. It is linked under Sources.
- Maker’s claim The maker says so on its own page or label. We read it but found no independent record.
- Not verified We looked and could not confirm it, or the maker does not say. Treat it as unknown.
Sources Where our facts come from
- Pip's Heirloom Snacks: Sea Salt Mini Popcorn. Maker’s page. Ingredients (popcorn, avocado oil, Himalayan pink sea salt, rosemary extract) and $18 for four 4.5 oz bags, re-opened 2026-11-06. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Kroger: Pipcorn Sea Salt Heirloom Popcorn, 4.5 oz. Independent source. Earlier sunflower-oil recipe, sodium 160 mg, seen 2026-11-06. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Whole Foods Market: Pipcorn Sea Salt Mini Popcorn 4.5 oz. Independent source. Sunflower-oil listing, sodium 145 mg, seen 2026-11-06. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Lead Safe Mama: snack guide. Test report. Says it avoids snacks with Himalayan salt. Community funded; earns affiliate income. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search. Certifier or regulator listing. Searched 2026-11-05: AG 2020-02523, acrylamide in Pipcorn Crackers Cheddar. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- openFDA: food enforcement reports. Certifier or regulator listing. Searched 2026-11-05: no entry for Pip's. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)