Warning concerning any food that contain olestra.

Forums: Olestra, Health, Diet, Food, Medical
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This is a personal warning concerning any food that happens to contain olestra.

After eating only ten chips of Ruffles light potato chips last night I awoke four hours later with severe diarrhea. This seem not to be all that uncommon a reaction and no where on the package was there any indication that problems could result from eating these chips and even the notice that it contain olestra was not in large print.

What to me is even more alarming is that those chips was supposed to had gone to my 88 year old mother and only my late night hunger and lack of will power stop that from happening.

See the comments concerning this issue by the Center for Science in the Public Interest below.

http://www.cspinet.org/olestra/
Thanks for your report. Over 20,000 people " many with severe symptoms and costly medical treatment " have filed reports with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), either through Procter and Gamble, Frito-Lay, or the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Unfortunately, the FDA, under pressure from Frito-Lay and Procter and Gamble, has not only allowed the marketing of olestra-containing snacks, but it has eliminated the requirement for a brief warning notice on the backs of packages. The FDA simply doesn't care about severe, but transient, reactions that occur in a small percentage of consumers.
Both Procter and Gamble and Frito-Lay have changed their marketing approach, deemphasizing "fat-free" and emphasizing "lower calories." Frito-Lay even changed the name of its product from WOW to Light. Both companies downplayed or removed any references to olestra on product labels.
In 2006, the Center for Science in the Public Interest threatened to sue the two companies if they did not make bolder statements about the presence of olestra so that consumers who want to avoid the ingredient would be better able to do so. The Lights labels have now been revised, and the Pringles labels will be revised by spring 2007.
You might want to tell the manager of the store at which you bought the chips that they made you very sick and that the store should stop selling them.
Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Center for Science in the Public Interest
1875 Connecticut Ave. NW #300
Washington, DC 20009
CSPI web site: www.cspinet.org

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and it is on the shelves, FREELY, advertised as a healthy alternative. Go figure.

Why are people having a hard time believing that what is put out as food, and is advertised as safe and healthy, is actually what is hurting people? Cancers, obesity, tumors, behavioral issues...

We are eating chemicals. Not food.
And these chemicals are hurting us.

If all of the chemicals acted as fast as that scary olestra did, people would get it.

I remember when that olestra first came out. I bought a bag shared it with my family for lunch. Basic sandwich and chips type lunch.
I will just say we only had one bathroom and 4 people. It was disgusting , scary and PAINFUL! Laughing

oooooooo hhhhhhhhhhhh
My doctor at the time looked me right in the eyes and said " you can only have it in moderation, and it wont bother you"

Moderation...
um..Sir....

I eat chips in my sandwich . I put about 5 or 6 in there against my bread to make it crunchy. No more. Thats just how I like it. I dont eat them as a side.. just.. a few in my sandwich.
.........uh.... moderation? Are you kidding?
WTF? Am I supposed to LICK the chip? is THAT moderation?

Im glad that stuff isnt more popular.

Sorry you had to experience that ! I know the pain . Quite literally.. even though it has been about 8 years. Laughing

2 Replies

@shewolfnm,

MMMMM DIARITOS

0 Replies

@shewolfnm,

shewolfnm wrote:

and it is on the shelves, FREELY, advertised as a healthy alternative. Go figure.

Olestra is not approved for use in many countries, e.g. in the European Union and Canada.

2 Replies

@Walter Hinteler,

Most things approved for consumption in this country are banned in others.

But you wont learn that inside these boarders.

0 Replies

@Walter Hinteler,

I'm surprised they still sell it in the U.S. Similarly, they allowed Alli (the diet aid which is a variant of olestra) to be sold comparatively easily in the U. S. A bit worrying what gets through the FDA.

1 Reply

@BillRM,

sorry to hear about your problem bill

but i was a little baffled as well, were we partying like it was 1999

Health Canada Rejects Olestra as a Food Additive
For Immediate Release:
June 22, 2000

OTTWA, CANADA - Health Canada has rejected olestra, the indigestible fat substitute made by Procter and Gamble, for use as a food additive in Canada. According to a letter sent June 8 by Marc Le Maguer, the Director General of the Food Directorate, "Health Canada has completed its review of Olestra and has decided not to recommend that Olestra be permitted for use as a food additive in Canada."
"We're pleased that Health Canada has decided to protect Canadians from olestra-containing products," said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a long-time opponent of olestra. "That will spare Canadians the gastrointestinal grief that thousands of U.S. consumers have experienced."

While Health Canada is saying "no" to olestra, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under pressure from Procter and Gamble, is considering dropping the olestra warning notice ("may cause abdominal cramping or loose stools") from packages.

The FDA has received more than 18,000 adverse-reaction reports related to olestra (2,687 from CSPI; more than 16,000 from Procter and Gamble). That's more such reports than the FDA has received for all other food additives in history combined. Many reports describe cases of severe diarrhea, including several Canadians who ate olestra-containing products on visits to the U.S.

CSPI urges people who believe they suffered adverse effects as a result of eating olestra to file a report.

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@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

I'm surprised they still sell it in the U.S. A bit worrying what gets through the FDA.

this should clear it up

While Health Canada is saying "no" to olestra, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under pressure from Procter and Gamble, is considering dropping the olestra warning notice ("may cause abdominal cramping or loose stools") from packages.

as they say,money talks, the person with the **** running down his leg walks or waddles very quickly

1 Reply

A basic search on olestra brings up quotes like this

Quote:

Olestra was accidentally discovered by Procter & Gamble (P&G) researchers F. Mattson and R. Volpenhein in 1968 while researching fats that could be more easily digested by premature infants.In 1971 P&G met with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to examine what sort of testing would be required to introduce Olestra as a food additive.

During the following tests, P&G noticed a decline in blood cholesterol levels as a side-effect of Olestra replacing natural dietary fats.

That being a HUGE selling point to people.
People see that first and skim over everything else thinking they have found a healthy ingredient.

0 Replies

and no.
I am not supporting olestra.. i am just showing what I find as the first few points about olestra on american google.. Confused

0 Replies

@djjd62,

djjd62 wrote:

as they say,money talks, the person with the **** running down his leg walks or waddles very quickly

we were visiting New York during an Alli marketing blitz. They were handing out samples along with other little goodies. Among the comments on the little flyer in the package - a recommendation that people wear dark slacks and/or take a change of clothes to work Shocked

Amazing that sane people consider using this.

1 Reply

@ehBeth,

from anything i've read about it, that's not a medication you just want to be handing out in a goodie bag

jes has talked about using it, and she says that with proper consultation and usage it's manageable, unfortunately most folks are looking for the miracle or quick fix

1 Reply

Simply years ago, dahlings, they came out with WOW potato chips, cooked in that ****. The boss brought us lunch one day. She grabs a bag of WOW chips and hands them to me. I bought these for you, because you are so health conscious." I had to tell her not only can they cause stomach discomfort, such as aches and diarrhea, they pull certain vitamins out of your body. There was a warning on the package, akin to the very fine print we hear about on legal contracts. So tiny, I had to really strain to be able to read it. She was annoyed with me. "Well, you can eat those now and have something healthy later, to make up for it."

1 Reply

@djjd62,

yeah, we tossed the samples, kept the pedometers.

I wouldn't put that sh!t in my body.

0 Replies

@BillRM,

Quote:

After eating only ten chips of Ruffles light potato chips last night I awoke four hours later with severe diarrhea.

What confuses me is that you didn't know that this was a well known scandal about a decade ago. As soon as it hit the mass market shelves it's infamous side effects became massive news scandal fodder.

Snack Attack: Olestra
March 1998 " U.S. Edition
http://www.cspinet.org/nah/marolest.htm

The story had the same news coverage as the Leno/O'Brien Tonight Show story in the news this past week.

2 Replies

@tsarstepan,

i'm of the opinion that bill might be bright, but he's not smart

1 Reply

@edgarblythe,

Quote:

they pull certain vitamins out of your body. There was a warning on the package, akin to the very fine print we hear about on legal contracts

That ws one of the big issues re: the "denutrientization" of your precious bodily fluids. I never realized that this stuff was even allowed in the chips after all these years of jokes about olestra.

0 Replies

@tsarstepan,

Given that the warnings were made smaller, I suspect that if you weren't paying attention to potato chip scandals a decade ago (I know many people who wouldn't have been), you'd have no idea of the potential problem.

If you did recall the coverage from ten years ago, you'd have to remember to take your magnifying glass to the store with you to look for the warning the way it exists now.

0 Replies

@djjd62,

Quote:

i'm of the opinion that bill might be bright, but he's not smart

True, oh how true not smart at all however in my very weak defense is that all it said on the damn package was half calories in large red letters and the word olestra in must must smaller letters. There was no warning of any kind on the package either.

I was at the time picking up any numbers of snack foods at my mother request as she is now not able to shop for herself. and not spending a lot of time at the task.

In any case beside posting here for everyone to had a head up so you guys will not need to run to the head, I had filed a complain/report with the FDA, email the Public Supermarket chain telling them that if they care about their customers health they would not sell this junk, email all my email contacts.

As you can tell I am annoy over this. No warning at all and a FDA that is suppose to look after the population welfare first and businesses bottom lines second.

I keep thinking of the possible harm that could had been done to my 88 years old mother who is not in the best of health.

1 Reply

@BillRM,

While Health Canada is saying "no" to olestra, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under pressure from Procter and Gamble, is considering dropping the olestra warning notice ("may cause abdominal cramping or loose stools") from packages.

isn't lobbying great

the FDA is more concerned with the almighty dollar then they are public safety

and let's face it, it is a money making proposition, if you eat the chips, you need to buy adult diapers and gatorade to replenish fluids

0 Replies

Warning concerning any food that contain olestra.

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