Lay's chips away at 'bad' fat with new oil


By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY
Frito-Lay, the world's snack kingpin, on Wednesday will announce an industry-jarring, better-for-you oil change for its most lucrative product — Lay's potato chips.

Feeling heat from consumers, schools and health experts, the chip giant this week begins a national rollout of Lay's and Ruffles chips cooked in sunflower oil instead of cottonseed oil, to reduce saturated fat. By the end of 2006, the chips cooked in NuSun sunflower oil will be sold nationwide.

The change is certain to be felt across the $15 billion-plus U.S. snack market, with other makers expected to follow. It comes three years after Frito-Lay eliminated trans fats from its snacks.

The result of the latest change: Saturated fat in the flagship Lay's Classic chips, for example, will drop by 66%, from 3 grams per 1-ounce serving to a single gram. Based on Lay's total sales, the switch will cut 60 million pounds of saturated fat a year from the nation's diet, says Rocco Papalia, senior vice president of R&D.

Not that this solves America's fat problems. "Moving in a healthier direction is good," says Jo Ann Hattner, a nutrition consultant in San Francisco. "But just because your chips got lower in saturated fat doesn't mean you can go out to eat fried chicken."

Frito-Lay is taking a risk, however. While it makes Fritos and Doritos, the Lay's line of 13 types of potato chips is the world's best-selling snack food. Its sales of $2.5 billion last year were 25% of Frito-Lay's total.

Messing with a popular brand's key ingredients — as Coke once unsuccessfully tried — is always risky, says Martin Lindstrom, an international brand consultant .

While sales may initially rise due to increased marketing, he says, "Some people will ask: Why did you change my favorite product?" Even if there's no taste change, "Many consumers will change their perception of the taste the moment they hear it's healthier."

But Frito-Lay officials say the Lay's chips made with sunflower oil have been sold in Canada for a year — and posted a 10% sales boost during that period.

In the UK, Lay's is sold under the Walkers brand — which switched to sunflower oil earlier this year.

Sunflower oil is popular with consumers because, "It has a great health profile," Papalia says. Even as it reduces saturated fats, sunflower oil increases mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which are commonly known as "good fats" that lower "bad" cholesterol.

The rollout, which begins in the Northeast this week, should reach the West Coast by the end of the year, says Lora DeVuono, group vice president of marketing. "This is transformational for the Lay's business. It's right for the consumer and right for our future."

But Hattner, the nutritionist, says people eat too many salty snacks. A better move, she says: Limit portion sizes and eat more fruit and vegetables.

i bought some of these at 7-11 today and they are loaded with the "good" fats mono and polyunsaturated..hopefully these will do well so we see more company's doing the same

Mazerati said:

but doesn't heating them up to fry make the oils bad?

ZombieKitten said:

no these are the snack potato chips

The new sunflower oil chips taste great.

Hey, you know what's even healthier?

Not snacking

I like Lays Low salt chips, because I'm not big on really salty chips. Occasionally, I'll crave salty chips like Tom's Honey BBQ chips or Ruffle's Cheddar & Sour Cream. And when it comes to chips.....generally I prefer Pringles. They have a new line of chips called Select....I guess a "higher" class line of chips. They're smaller, more flavor packed, and a lot crispier than their regular chips. The flavors aren't typical chips flavors either....Sun Dried Tomato, Szcechuan(sp?) BBQ, Garlic/Parmesan, Sweet Potato Cinnamon. I tried the Parmesan and Garlic and the Sweet Potato and Cinnamon. I almost died when I saw the sweet potato ones, because I love sweet potatoes. Anyway, I still haven't tried the new chips w/ sunflower oil.

PANDURITO said:

All the fatfree stuff is good if you cook them in oil yourself. And I add sugar to sugarless products as well.

I have no idea why, but this really made me laugh.

ZombieKitten said:

that's what I heard, deep frying changes even healthy oils.

I also heard giving one potato chip to a cat is like giving us an entire hamburger, I thought you should know.

novabrkr said:

RipHer2Shreds said:

perhaps because you saw the ad where they make a bowl of lays chips look like the petals from a sunflower?? lol

it's no big deal. they are still chips

NDRU said:

what about yogurt covered cardboard? my cat used to eat that

ZombieKitten said:

where do you buy that? Sounds pretty healthy, I guess

NDRU said:

I made it myself!