This Group’s Max-im: Chips With Olestra Are Unsafe

A consumer watchdog group announced Tuesday a TV ad campaign to warn viewers that eating Frito-Lay’s new “Max” potato and tortilla chips, which contain the fat substitute olestra, may cause diarrhea and cramps.

“Olestra is simply not safe. A product like this should not be on the market,” said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Frito-Lay’s new fat-free chips are the first foods to be made with Procter & Gamble Co.’s revolutionary and controversial olestra, the first calorie-free fat replacement. The Food and Drug Administration approved olestra in January for use in chips, crackers, popcorn and similar snack foods.

Critics of the non-digestible olestra have charged that the product can cause severe gastrointestinal side effects, including diarrhea, cramps, loose stools and incontinence. The olestra molecule has also been found to deplete the amount of fat-soluble vitamins and carotenoids in the body.

“There’s nothing new in what was reported today,” said Sydney McHugh, Procter & Gamble spokeswoman. “The center has been opposed to olestra for nine years, and the FDA has rejected their arguments.”

Frito-Lay began test-marketing in April its new snack food in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Eau Claire, Wis.; and Grand Junction, Colo.

“The three test cities are rapidly becoming the diarrhea capitals of America,” Jacobson said. He said his office has received about 50 complaints from residents of gastrointestinal ailments after eating sometimes only small quantities of the chips.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest investigates the nutritional value of many popular foods. It recently disclosed its findings on the high fat contents of some popular chains’ sweet rolls and so-called low-fat muffins.

Jacobson and his group have been very vocal critics of olestra from the beginning and have appealed the FDA’s approval. He said Tuesday that the center did not know where their appeal stands.

Lynn Markley, director of public relations for Frito-Lay, said that if consumers have “discomfort” from the products, they should adjust their usage or perhaps switch to other products.

“We’re not saying the product is for everyone,” she said.