Assessment of the Impact of Flavoring on the Nutritional Content of Potato Chips

This study investigated the effect of flavoring on the nutritional values of the potato chips. A comparative analysis of six different flavors of potato chips was performed to understand the differences in their total fat, sodium, carbohydrate, crude fiber, cholesterol, protein content and fatty acid (FA) profiles. Our results showed that there was a significant difference in the proximate content among the various flavors of the chips analyzed. The sodium, moisture and FA contents varied significantly and also influenced the energy yield of potato chips. Palmitic acid (4-7.4%), stearic acid (3.4-3.8%), linoleic acid (56.2-59.4%) and oleic acid (28.4-30.4%) were the most significant FAs. The different flavors of the chips showed high content of unsaturated fatty acids. On comparing the individual FAs from the potato chips samples with different vegetable oils, no similarity with single oil could be found. The pattern of the FA composition clearly indicated the use of a combination of sunflower oil, soybean oil and corn oil as the major components of the oil used for frying these chips. It can be concluded that both sodium and FA play an important role in imparting flavor and taste to potato chips.