Frito-Lay is changing its Lay’s line of potato chips to give them a healthier nutritional profile. The
company is switching to frying
in sunflower oil from cottonseed oil, a move that will reduce the saturated fat content in the chips by 66%. Though
some people, analysts and consumers alike, worry about a taste change in the best-selling snack food, the company says
that it has been selling sunflower-fried chips in Canada and the UK (under the Walker’s brand) with only positive
feedback from customers. There are other brands, including Kettle Chips, which currently use sunflower oil
Sunflower oil is made from sunflower seeds and is higher in vitamin E than any other vegetable oil. There are three types of sunflower oils: linoleic, high oleic and NuSun, all created through selective cross breeding of sunflower plants. Linoleic sunflower oil is the original oil, with low saturated fat levels (11% saturated) and a clean, light taste. Because it is so high in polyunsaturates, it is susceptible to oxidation during frying. The high oleic oil is unusually high in monounsaturated fats (82% monounsaturated, 9% polyunsaturated, 9% saturated) and was created to preserve the benefits of traditional sunflower oil but to be better for frying, so as to have a greater commercial application. In fact, this is most likely the type of oil that is being used by Frito Lay. NuSun is the newest type of sunflower oil. It is shelf-stable without the need for hydrogenation and falls somewhere between the linoleic and high oleic oils, with 65% monounsaturated, 26% polyunsaturated and 9% saturate fat.
By comparison, cottonseed oil is 27% saturated fat.
This isn't turning potato chips into health food, per say, but it is a very positive change in the snack food industry. And that’s something that can really make you “get your smile on.”
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