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Food Safety Works Colorado State University Extension
SafeFood Rapid Response Network

SAFEFOOD NEWS - Spring 1998 - Vol 2 / No. 3

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Olestra and Gastrointestinal (GI) Discomfort

A well designed, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial suggests that potato chips made with olestra are no more likely than conventional potato chips to cause GI discomfort. To date, products containing olestra must have the following statement printed on the label, "may cause loose stools and abdominal cramping." At a Chicago multiplex cinema, 1123 people participated in the potato chip test. Half of the subjects received a 13-ounce bag of chips made with olestra and the others received a 13-ounce bag of regular chips. Forty hours to ten days later telephone interviews were conducted with the subjects; no significant differences occurred between subjects who consumed olestra and regular chips in the reported number of specific GI symptoms of gas, diarrhea, and abdominal cramping.

Based on this and numerous other studies, a FDA Food Advisory Panel endorsed the safety of snacks made with olestra. The panel, however, is still recommending that snacks made with olestra carry a label warning of possible GI symptoms. The panel said that the label could be removed in a few years if data continue to show favorable results.

Source: Food Safety Notebook, Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Olestra, Vol. 9, No. 2, February 1998.

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