Straight Talk on Snacking

• 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 better oils like corn, canola, and sunflower oils, which contain 80% or more of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat—the “good fats”, 20% or less saturated fat, and 0 grams trans fat.

• Q:  Aren’t your chips high in fat?

  • A:  Most of our chips range from 7-10 grams of total fat per 1oz. serving, an amount comparable to many other snack choices. We also offer snacks like Baked! LAY’S® potato crisps, which have 3 grams of fat or less per serving. The good news about all our chips is that we make them with “good fats”—polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which have heart health benefits because they can actually lower bad cholesterol as part of a balanced diet, so long as the total calories consumed do not increase.

• Q:  Won’t eating chips make me fat?

  • A:  Weight and weight gain always go back to calories in, calories out. Frito-Lay chips (and any food, in fact) can be a part of a balanced 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 or less Mini Bites offer 100 calorie or less portions of some of our most popular brands including DORITOS® and CHEETOS®. 

• Q:  Doesn’t Frito-Lay make junk food?

  • A:  At Frito-Lay, we make great-tasting snacks that start with quality, farm-grown ingredients. Most Frito-Lay chips start with real, simple ingredients like corn and potatoes. All of our chips are cooked in corn, sunflower, and canola oil which have less than 20% of the "bad" saturated fat and 80% or more of the "good" unsaturated fat and 0 grams trans fat.

• Q:  Don’t Frito-Lay chips have trans fats?

  • A:  Nope. All Frito-Lay chips have 0g trans fat per serving. In fact, we were the first major food company to remove trans fats from our snack chips starting in 2003.

• Q: What’s in your chips, anyway?

  • A:  Our most popular snack chips are based on 3 simple ingredients: potatoes or corn, oil, and salt and have no preservatives.  In our seasoned chip varieties, the seasoning makes up less than 5% of the ingredients in our chips. Another ingredient fact: all Frito-Lay potato chips are a good source of vitamin C (10% of your daily value) derived from the potatoes.

• Q: Frito-Lay makes salty snacks…so aren’t they high in sodium?

  • A:  Actually, no. Chips have comparable sodium per serving to many other foods, like a slice of white bread, crackers, or even cottage cheese. In fact, Frito-Lay chips account for only about 2% of the sodium consumption in the U.S. Salty snacks taste salty because the salt is on the surface of the chip, not because they are high in sodium. Other foods like crackers have the salt mixed and baked in so they don’t taste as salty.  The primary source of sodium in the U.S. diet comes from common foods like bread and cheese.

• Q: Isn’t snacking just a bad habit?

  • A:  Clearly there is a difference between mindless eating and snacking to curb the appetite between meals. Snacking can be part of a balanced lifestyle and offers many benefits. When keeping wholesome ingredients, portion size, and personal calorie needs in mind, snacking can be useful in managing weight and sustaining energy throughout the day.

• 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. Frito-Lay uses certified organic blue corn in our TOSTITOS® Blue Corn Tortilla Chips, certified organic yellow corn in our Simply Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips and organic cornmeal in our Simply CHEETOS® White Cheddar Puffs.

• Q: I am on a modified diet that restricts salt, fat, and cholesterol. Are my favorite Frito-Lay snacks off limits?

  • A:  Good news! Frito-Lay offers a lot of different snacking options to address various nutritional concerns.  Go ahead and turn over the bag to check the nutrition and ingredients panel! Frito-Lay snacks are cooked in better oils which contain the good mono- and polyunsaturated fats that are associated with lowering bad cholesterol when they replace saturated fats and calories stay the same. And all Frito-Lay chips have 0g trans fat per serving. As far as salt goes, Frito-Lay snacks have less sodium than you might think—a serving of LAY’S® Classic potato chips have a similar amount of sodium to a slice of bread. So Frito-Lay snacks, enjoyed in moderation, can be part of a balanced diet.