National marketing begins for fake-fat chips

But critics say olestra should be pulled from market

February 10, 1998
Web posted at: 6:34 p.m. EST (2334 GMT)

CINCINNATI (CNN) -- Is it the calorie-counter's dream or nightmare?

Procter & Gamble Co.'s olestra fat substitute began its national debut on store shelves Tuesday, after the company reported an enthusiastic response to the product in test marketing.

But critics say olestra can cause digestive problems, including diarrhea and severe cramps.

After spending almost 30 years and $500 million on development, P&G is introducing olestra under the brand name Olean in potato and tortilla chips, including its own Fat-Free Pringles potato crisps.

Frito-Lay Inc.'s WOW! chips, sold under the Lay's, Ruffles and Doritos names, made their debut Tuesday on store shelves from Seattle to San Francisco. The national rollout by both companies is expected to be complete by summer.

A synthetic chemical made from sugar and vegetable oil, olestra has some of the taste and texture of real fat, but its molecules are too large to be digested. It passes through the body unabsorbed.

P&G reported that in Indiana and Ohio, where chips made with the fat substitute have been test marketed since April 1996, 40 percent of consumers bought them. Of those, half bought them three or more times.

When the chips were introduced in Columbus, Ohio, many stores sold out in one day. P&G said 28 million servings of olestra were consumed in test markets.

This warning will appear on all products containing olestra

"Consumers have saved over 280 tons of fat. This is about five railroad cars full of fat," said Suzette Middleton, a company spokesperson.

A critic of the product, Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said olestra should be ordered off the market.

In approving the product in 1996, the Food and Drug Administration required companies to include a warning label on snack packages saying olestra may cause "abdominal cramping and loose stools."

A P&G-funded study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that chips made with olestra caused no greater stomach problems than other chips.

Jacobson calls the study unreliable. "That study is junk science. It was carefully designed so it wouldn't find a problem," he said.

Meanwhile, P&G has big expectations for its fake fat. Although only snack foods will contain olestra now, its makers want to put it in cooking oil, ice cream and other products.

To keep up with the expected demand, P&G recently completed a $250 million Cincinnati plant big enough to supply olestra for 20 percent of the $6.5 billion in salty snacks Americans eat annually.

Correspondent Eugenia Halsey and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• Olestra snack chips draw more consumer complaints - July 15, 1997
• Procter & Gamble wants to take fake fat nationwide - June 16, 1997
• Olestra prompts a fat-free food fight - October 1, 1996
• New fake fat: tastes good, less filling - August 25, 1996

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association
• Olestra and Other Fat Substitutes - from the Food and Drug Administration
• Olean - Procter and Gamble's official Olestra site
• Center for Science in the Public Interest - a nonprofit education and advocacy organization that focuses on improving the safety and nutritional quality of our food supply
  • The Facts About Olestra
• Olestra: The Facts - from the Frito-Lay Company
• Diabetes Monitor - Olestra Information - from the Midwest Diabetes Care Center
• Penn State Research on Olestra - from the College of Health and Human Development
• Questions and Answers about Olestra - from the Ohio State University Food Science and Technology Department.
• Olestra (Olean) - information from the American Heart Association National Center
• Issue In Focus: Olestra - from the American Council on Science and Health

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