Professor chips away at bad press on olestra

sealPurdue News
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February 17, 1997

This is a story idea from the Purdue News Service. To arrange interviews or campus visits, call Grady Jones at (765) 494-2079 or e-mail him at grady_jones@purdue.edu

Professor chips away at bad press on olestra

According to Louise Peck, assistant professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue, initial reports of digestive tract problems caused by the fat replacer olestra were overstated. She believes that more extensive studies have shown olestra to be as safe as other foods eaten by the general population. Peck says that the public can test the new chips for themselves beginning the weekend of Feb. 28. Frito-Lay will be giving away their WOW! snacks at 500 locations in central Indiana. Consumers could benefit from the fact that a one-ounce serving of olestra potato chips are fat-free compared to 10 grams of fat in the same-size serving of regular potato chips. In addition to being fat-free, the olestra chips have half the calories of regular chips.

Contact:

Louise Peck, assistant professor of foods and nutrition

(765) 494-8236

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