ANALYZE THIS
So you eat the chips. The earth eats the bag.
And we all live in a cleaner world. ~FritoLay website
Not so fast, FritoLay.
NOISY PACKAGING
I was intrigued to find that the packaging to Frito-Lay SunChips is noisy. Noisy? Further inspection reveals that it is a new form of packaging, made from plant material, which is compostable. This means that it breaks down easily when disposed of in a compost pile. They say:
Every 10 ½ oz. SunChips® package is designed to fully break down in just 14 weeks when placed in a hot, active compost bin or pile.
What about sizes other than the ten-and-a-half-ounce bag? And what about using it to package other snacks than just SunChips? Having invested in the research and development resources to manufacture the bag, why not use it for all of their products?
Unfortunately, most landfills are a long way from being compostable, and often do not allow for the breaking down of simple, organic materials simply because there is so much non-organic material mixed in. Landfills have become inorganic over time, with layer upon layer of plastic mingling with the paper and other organic material. So unless you’re putting the bag in your garden, this packaging isn’t going anywhere fast.
However, we cannot lay this environmental tragedy at the feet of Frito-Lay. It is encouraging that they are using plant-based material and have developed sustainable packaging. Although their video is pathetic, they do go to the trouble to tell you how to compost in your own garden, and explain the development of the packaging in three pdf files.
NOISY SNACKS
The ingredients, shown on the website – but not so easily that I had to contact the manufacturer to see how to get there – are printed in such a tiny font that they are illegible. I had to use a magnifying glass! The website for SunChips is where I was looking, but you won’t find the ingredients listed there. You have to go to the website for FritoLay. Any manufacturer using such obfuscating tactics invites, rightly so, consumer mistrust.
Listed for the Original Flavored Multigrain Snacks:
- INGREDIENTS Whole corn, sunflower oil, whole wheat, whole oat flour, rice flour, sugar, corn bran, salt, natural flavor and corn maltodextrin.
- The rice flour is presumably made from enriched white rice, so no whole grain goodness there. A shame to undo the good of the whole grains by using other, no-whole grains.
- The addition of corn bran is the most nutritious part of the grain that is removed during the refining process; all good there.
- So it is curious then, with three whole grain flours and corn bran, comprising four of the ten ingredients, that this product is made up of only 18% whole grains.  This leaves 82% of the product is refined rice flour, sugar, salt, flavoring and (the last ingredient) a crispness enhancer. I can’t fault the list in general, but have to point out that most of the product is empty of food value. Had they used whole grain rice flour, they could have perhaps tipped the scale in the direction of a healthy alternative, despite the sugar and salt which are inevitable in ‘snack’ food products.
- The label further states “No preservatives”. I knew it! Snack food products can be made without preservatives, and I doubt that it is the new packaging that makes this possible. I haven’t check the date stamp on the product in the store, but it presumably is good for at least a month, ample time to enjoy this product should you be moved to purchase it.
ARTIFICE WINS THE DAY
The other flavors, unfortunately, didn’t fare as well as the packaging for real ingredients. While all flavors are touted as ‘multigrain’, it is curious that the Variety Mix, which is a combination of some of the flavors, isn’t labeled as such, or of possessing any of the other, favorable, characteristics. Curious.
- The French Onion Flavor has a plethora of artificial, chemical and natural ingredients (starches, sugars, flavorings, colorings, milk products), and I wondered why a product containing mozzarella (the only) cheese is called French?
- Ditto for the Salsa Flavor, which contains two flavors of cheese. When was the last time you found cheese in your salsa? Curiously, sunflower oil (and not as a sub-ingredient) is listed twice, which leads me to believe that they aren’t paying very close attention when making their ingredients list. Wouldn’t you rather have the Original Flavor of this product and dip it into real salsa?
- Harvest Cheddar Flavor has, not only cheddar cheese, but also romano cheese which, at first glance appears that it, along with the onion powder, is part of the cheddar cheese until you realize that they forgot a ). I like attention to detail in my food products.
In their marketing-heavy website, they have a Q&A that is disingenuous to say the least. My comments, in red:
Q: Aren’t all fried foods unhealthy?
A: Actually, no. Frying itself isn’t unhealthy—it’s the type of oil in which the frying is done that matters. Certain oils, such as tropical and partially hydrogenated oils have saturated fats or trans fats, which are considered “bad fats.” But Frito-Lay chips are fried in healthier oils like corn and sunflower oils, which contain 80% or more of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat—the “good fats.”
Define ‘fried food’. Pan frying in olive oil is relatively healthy. But as soon as you deep fry something, everything changes. The high temperatures needed for deep-frying sends most nutritional benefits down the tube, although whole-grains are presumably still whole grain. Deep-fried foods are unhealthy. And fried chips (potato or corn or any other kind) are deep fried unless noted otherwise. Frying food in unhealthy oils compounds the damage, often adding saturated trans fats to the mix. Frying food in corn oil often uses oil made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). So if you want to avoid GMOs, buy fried snacks that are certified organic.
Q: Won’t eating chips make me fat?
A: Weight and weight gain always goes back to calories in, calories out. Frito Lay chips (and any food, in fact) can be a part of a healthy lifestyle but moderation is important. Frito-Lay offers a number of options to help with portion control, including our multipacks and variety packs, which are an easy way to ensure the right portion, and fresh-tasting chips every time. And our 100 Calorie Mini Bites offer 100 calorie portions of some of our most popular brands including DORITOS® and CHEETOS®.
Snacking multiple times during the day will always have an adverse affect on one’s size and health. Individual servings sizes, while good for taking brown bag lunches to work and school, are not the most economical way to purchase. But 100 calories is still only 100 calories. On the other hand, eating Cheetos is still eating Cheetos.
Q: What does “organic” have to do with snacks? Does Frito-Lay use any organic ingredients?
A: Organic food options are becoming more widely available, and not just in the produce section. Organic snacks are made with organic ingredients that have not been treated with pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste or sewer sludge. They are made from all natural (not-synthetic) ingredients, not genetically modified, and not treated by radiation. Frito-Lay uses certified organic blue corn in our Natural Blue Corn TOSTITOS® tortilla chips.
There is only one product, of many offered by this company, that is made from organic ingredients. So FritoLay‘s snacks, except for the single one mentioned, may have, by their own admission, been treated with pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste or sewer sludge, may have been genetically modified and treated by radiation. I’m no marketing genius, but I wouldn’t have said it that way.
FritoLay, their packaging notwithstanding, is still junk food that will contribute to poor health unless balanced with portion control and generally healthy eating. That said, their Original Flavored Multigrain Snacks are far from the worst snack food product on grocers’ shelf.
