Australians are shocked over claims Pringles ‘aren’t made with proper potatoes’ – igniting a debate over what they’re ‘really’ made of.
Co-hosts Jordan Street and Shane Little brought up Pringles in an episode of ‘The Unattractive Attractive Podcast’ this week.
‘Pringles aren’t potatoes,’ Shane declared. ‘They used to be called ‘potato crisps’ or ‘potato chips’ on the packaging but the FDA made them remove the ‘chips’ because they’re not chips.’
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, similar to the Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
Shane explained, ‘According to FDA policy, you have to have potato in your product to call it chips. Pringles are not potato, they are made using a crushed up [potato] powder.’
Australians are shocked after discovering a beloved chips brand doesn’t use ‘potatoes’ at all
A Pringles spokesperson provided an insight into the process of making the savoury treat.
‘Pringles is made from potato that has been dehydrated and is sourced from our potato farmers around the world. Pringles declares all ingredients on its packaging together with the nutritional information.
‘The product descriptor for Pringles is ‘potato crisps’ and appears on the back of the packaging. We have never been asked to change packaging to remove the word ‘crisps’, which is a term used to describe many different foods in the Australian market,’ a spokesperson told FEMAIL.
Shane’s co-host – and thousands of others – were shocked by the revelation.
Some other kinds of potato chips are typically made from thinly sliced potatoes and do not go through a similar process.
Many argued that the ‘powder’ still contained potato – but others disagreed.
‘I personally don’t consider highly processed dried potato powder anywhere near real potato,’ one said.
‘Dried potato is still potato – and Pringles are made of 42 per cent potato,’ another shot back.
How are Pringles really made?
American documentary series How It’s Made previously revealed the process of creating Pringles, from base ingredients down to packaging.
Pringles are made with a ratio of one-third water to two-thirds potato flakes, and then corn starch is mixed in to give the batter its firmness while being fried.
The mix is then pressed to flatten it out into one long potato sheet, and a rotary cutter punches out oval shapes into the sheet of potato mix.
Next, the un-cooked, cut chips head into a fryer.
As they make their way through the fryer, a mould gives each chip a concave shape.
It only takes 11 seconds of frying before they are crisp and make their way into an area for blow drying to remove any excess oil.
The chips are then seasoned, inspected by a worker, and packaged into containers.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Pringles for a comment.
