Frito-Lay to Make Half Its Chips All-Natural

But don't expect Doritos or Cheetos to join the party
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 28, 2010 1:26 PM CST
Frito-Lay to Make Half Its Chips All-Natural
Tostitos chips are going all-natural.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Frito-Lay: Health food company? Well, not exactly, but the oft-maligned snack maker is giving its line a makeover that should play well with the Whole Foods crowd. Starting in 2011, 50% of its line will be made from all-natural ingredients, USA Today reports. That means no more sodium diacetate in the Hint of Lime Tostitos, no more monosodium glutamate in the Barbeque Lay’s, and a boatload less artificial flavors all around.

“This is the largest evolution we’ve ever had in our product line,” boasts a Frito-Lay marketing officer. But a nutritionist scoffs at the effort. “They’ll get more PR mileage out of this than any real change,” she said, because the problem isn’t the snacks’ unnatural ingredients, but their fat and salt contents. The change will also leave two notable, artificial-ingredient-laden brands unscathed: Doritos and Cheetos. (More Frito-Lay stories.)

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