A Dietitian Explains Why Snacks Aren’t All They Say They Are
A Recent Grocery Store Encounter
While shopping at Aldi’s I spotted a woman who was distressed that her favorite potato chips were not on the shelf. I don’t know the woman, but in the south, people tend to chat you up just about everywhere, including the grocery store. When I asked her what was so special about these chips, she said they were made with avocado oil, so they were healthier than regular chips fried in “toxic seed oils.”
Seed Oils Are Not the Villain
As a dietitian, I’ve written about seed oils and how they are unfairly demonized. They are not toxic or pro-inflammatory as so many influencers claim. (To read the post on seed oils, click here.) However, the point of this story is that potato chips are potato chips, whether cooked in avocado oil or soybean oil or canola oil or sunflower oil. If you enjoy chips, enjoy them but don’t think they are health food. It also struck me that the sticker price for the avocado chips was almost twice that of the others on the shelf.
Fast forward a couple of weeks later and an article on the authenticity of avocado oil caught my eye. In the paper, published in Applied Food Research, the investigators evaluated the authenticity of avocado oil (as well as olive oil) used as ingredients in commercially processed foods, such as chips, mayonnaise, and salad dressings. The label indicated the products contained avocado oil, but when the avocado oil was evaluated against the chemical makeup of avocado oil, 93% of chips sampled were inconsistent with authentic avocado oil. Yikes, that means that the premium price consumers are paying for chips and snacks cooked in avocado oil, are not what they think they are. (To see the entire paper, click here.) As the authors conclude, price is not indicative of high-quality oils.
Food Fraud Isn’t New
Food adulteration is not new. According to the Food Authenticity Network, some of the most adulterated foods include olive oil (sold as 100% extra virgin olive oil but mixed with less expensive vegetable oils), fish (substituting one species for another that is cheaper and more easily obtained), and maple syrup or honey (addition of cheaper sugars to replace the natural sweeteners.) (Click here for the Food Authenticity Network) Why would a food company say the food contained one thing but upon closer inspection, it doesn’t? The answer is money. The Food & Drug Administration calls it EMA for economically motivated adulteration or simply another term for food fraud. (Click here for the FDA page).
What Can Consumer Do?
- Question the price of any snack food that has a “health halo.”
- Remember that an organic potato chip is still a potato chip no matter the oil used.
- Shop at reputable retailers and check prices.
Key Takeaways
- Paying more isn’t a guarantee of nutrition. Don’t let a health halo or premium price mislead you.
- The story on avocado oil authenticity is a reminder that food marketing is alive and well.
- Avocado oil snacks may sound healthier, but science tells us a different story. The best defensive is a good offense: enjoy snacks for what they are not what the label suggests.
I’m Chris Rosenbloom, PhD, RD (Registered Dietitian) and nutrition professor emerita (a fancy word for retired) at Georgia State University in Atlanta. I am also a 51-year member of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. I love to read and write and share the fascinating world of nutrition with (older) adults. I co-authored Food & Fitness After 50 (with Bob Murray) and we just finished copy editing the second edition (more to come on that). I am 75 years old and believe aging is a privilege, so I don’t whine about getting older. Check out my website at https://www.chrisrosenbloom.com/
Good advice 👍