369704 Sat Feb 10 09:19:31 -0800 2007 12 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 2279082 Whatever happened to Fat Free Potato Chips? I dont see them anywhere. I thought they were decent considering they were fat free, or were they. Were the companies trying to fake us out, or the public just didn't take to them? Sat Feb 10 09:19:31 -0800 2007 12130 malibumike 1 2279100 They're still available from Frito-Lay. What used to be called 'Wow' chips is now simply called 'Lite' chips. As for faking out the public, the only faking was the food police who tried to scare the public over a perfectly good alternative. There is no longer a warning label on the package as there is nothing dangerous or potentially un-healthy about olestra. Sat Feb 10 09:29:57 -0800 2007 2279082 11003 chipman 1 2279102 Come to Nashville, they are all over the place. Interestingly, I rather enjoy the flavor of a few fat free renditions of regular potato chips, and I am certainly not a calorie counter (college athlete). As far as Lay's and Pringles are concerned, most of the flavor is still there, and they are going strong in the (famously health-conscious-hah!) South. Sat Feb 10 09:30:21 -0800 2007 2279082 69116 notgreg 1 2279917 I avoid lab-created ingredients, so I never tried the WoW chips, but unlike other baked chips I've had, the baked Kettle Chips (at least, the BBQ version available at Trader Joe's) are actually decent. Sat Feb 10 14:54:21 -0800 2007 2279082 10159 Ruth Lafler 1 2280250 Even better: Glenny's Potato Crisps. They're awesome. Sat Feb 10 17:10:29 -0800 2007 2279082 10681 piccola 1 2280726 When the Wow chips first came out, they gave me really bad cramps. I don't know if it was caused by something else or if they've changed the formulation/recipe, but I love them now. I try to stay away from snack food as much as possible. Like the Lay's potato chip commercial, it's impossible for me to have just one! My favorites are the Doritos and the Sour Cream and Cheddar Lay's. Sat Feb 10 21:07:57 -0800 2007 2279082 27873 gyp7318 1 2280733 How about the Lay's Baked chips? Aren't those (nearly) fat free? Sat Feb 10 21:12:13 -0800 2007 2279082 11583 ipsedixit 1 2283850 The reason that Wow! chips were pulled off of the market had to do with the way that the Olestra (sp?), or fake fat, was digested (or rather wasn't) by the body. The substitute would simply pass through the body undigested and "seep " out the other end, hence the warning of "May cause anal seepage". Procter & Gamble has since remedied this problem in a way that is actually quite fascinating and hard for me to understand. Jeffrey Steingarten has an entire chapter devoted to this "fake fat" drama in The Man Who Ate Everything. Mon Feb 12 06:29:44 -0800 2007 2279082 69116 notgreg 2 2286621 You are wrong. It was never taken off the market. Sales however, were hurt because of the warning label. There has not been any change whatsoever to the the formula that makes Olestra. The warning label is no longer on the package and it's not because of some change in the formula. The FDA found there was nothing wrong with the product hence no warning label. Mon Feb 12 19:10:21 -0800 2007 2283850 11003 chipman 1 2287030 Jeffrey Steingarten would disagree with this information, and I can imagine that the fact-checking on a best-selling book by a nationally renowned food writer would involve quite a bit of scrutiny. Mon Feb 12 21:19:39 -0800 2007 2279082 69116 notgreg 1 2287052 I was really hungry while shopping a couple years ago and took some sample olestra chips - I was really hungry, so they tasted good and I bought them. I slowed down eating 'em when I felt like I had mechanic's grease around my mouth and read the warning label - forgot the whole schpiel but distinctly remember the part about "explosive diarrhea." Mon Feb 12 21:30:47 -0800 2007 2279082 54251 rcallner 1 2287080 Let me just say, I have no dog in this fight, never ate WOW chips, don't have a strong opinion of them. However, I have a very strong memory of the kerfuffle surrounding these chips, and most folks' recollections here are wrong (really, you think a food product would include "explosive diarrhea" on a label? And they would sell their product to whom? The company would make zero money, and there's no way the FDA would be successful in making them put that label on.) Anyway, here's what the NY Times said when the FDA removed the warning label (not because the formula was changed btw, Chipman's correct there.) ****The Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that products containing olestra, the zero-calorie fat substitute that was supposed to revolutionize the way consumers felt about low-fat snacks, would no longer be required to carry a label indicating that the substance could cause digestive troubles. Olestra, which was developed and marketed by Procter & Gamble as Olean, is used in salty snacks like Fat-Free Pringles, Frito-Lay's WOW snacks and Utz's Yes brand of potato chips. When the F.D.A. approved olestra in 1996, it required companies to place a label on products that contained it, indicating that the ingredient could cause abdominal cramping and loose stools. The label also noted that vitamins A, D, E and K had been added because olestra inhibits the body's ability to absorb them. But that label, along with changing trends in consumer eating habits, including scant interest in fat-free foods, discouraged many shoppers from buying products that were made with olestra. Food manufacturers opposed the label from the outset. The F.D.A. said yesterday that it decided to remove the label because most consumers were aware of the risks associated with olestra and new data showed only a minor increase in digestive problems. Regulators also said shoppers found the label confusing and thought that eating the product would not allow them to digest vitamins and minerals that were not affected by olestra. The new labeling rule, which still requires food manufacturers to add vitamins A, D, E and K to products, is effective immediately. "We're pleased that the F.D.A. has taken this action and we think their decision is great news for consumers," Greg Allgood, an associate director for Procter & Gamble's Health Sciences Institute, said in a statement. "It will provide additional confidence to the millions of people who are enjoying low and fat-free snacks made with Olean."**** It's me, Writergirl again. People will believe/remember what they want, but what I pasted above is what the NY Times reported when the label was removed. Check out Wikipedia too. Mon Feb 12 21:47:12 -0800 2007 2279082 11738 writergirl 1 2296166 Hm, maybe it was "loose stools." I could certainly be wrong, especially if Wikipedia has it different. They were kind of gross, in either case. Thu Feb 15 11:44:51 -0800 2007 2279082 54251 rcallner