What Snack Food Was Legally Barred from Calling Its Product “Chips”?

Chips are the most liked snacks among people worldwide. It’s the most flooded and used product in the food industry.

Maybe the reason for such Wide popularity is the taste and ingredients. From an infant to an old one everyone likes to eat chips fondly. Now here comes the most searched and hyped question in the food industry.

Everyone has a different perspective and answers toward this question. I hope you will find your answer through this article.

Pringles

The answer to it is “Pringles”. But for a long time, they were considered chips, and that too chiefly in the United States. However, this myth was broken by some major snack producers. They are not the same as chips and the major differing point is their making way.

But this was followed by some disputed arguments. Some were of the view that potato is used as an ingredient in Pringles so they can be termed as “Potato Chips”. 

Soon Proctor & Gramble comes into the picture and commented that ” Pringles are not solely made of potato and flour, they contain the proportion of other ingredients also and percentile of potato is only 40%, so calling them potato chips is illogical”.

Potatoes are the main key element of Chips and a snack to be called a chip needs to be made of whole thickly sliced potatoes, though some flours can be added to it. And Pringles do not stand on these qualifications.

History of Pringles

The history of Pringles is as vivid as they are. The history of it goes very deep down.  I think the name chips originated from Pringles Newfangled Potato Chips, the company that produces them.

Their evolution began with the task of resolving the issue of broken potato chips. But soon it begins to be seen as a fact of controversial debate, technological innovation, and of course the cartoons. They are sold and purchased in more than 140 countries.

Their selling point is that they are a bit healthy as they’re not oily though they are salty. 

Though their initial start was not good they have to go through a lot of ups and downs but later with time they become a top snack company.

The founder Frederic Baur and just wanted to invent snacks that are fresh and crunchy. And to maintain that crunchiness he came up with the idea of a vacuum-sealed tube.

It’s roots go back to the late 60s, people were attracted by its unique packaging and shape but its taste did not stand out that much. 

The US Food and Drug Administration declared in 1975 that Pringles would not be permitted to use the word “chip” in the name of their product or if they did, it would have to be combined with the phrase “potato chips made from dried potatoes.”

So later the company decided to work on their taste and with the support of Alexander Liepa, they were able to achieve a new recipe. And from here the magic of Pringles began which is still ongoing.

The founder of Pringles can Frederic Baur, was proud of its innovation of the potato crisps snack that when he dies he doesn’t want to be buried, instead be cremated so that his ashes can be put in the can. This too happened when died in 2008.

Flavors Of Pringles

The main viewpoint of the snacks company is to make snacks of varied flavors as per the taste buds of a particular country. 

Pringles also followed the same policy but in fact, came up with more flavors than other snack brands. One can find original everywhere. But it has various categories like domestic flavors and abroad flavors. Domestic Flavours which are for domestic consumers are Sour cream, Onion, pizza, and BBQ.

Abroad Flavours which are for the abroad consumer are the following; So let’s start with Japan:

• Beef Bowl
• Miso Ramen
• Sichuan Spicy Fried Chicken.

Then in the United States:

• Prawn Cocktail
• Piri Piri Chicken.

The following ones are available in Hungary :

• Ham and Cheese
• Mushroom and Cream.

Apart from this, it also have a fancy list of limited flavors like Thanksgiving Dinner which includes turkey stuffing and pumpkin pie. And a Collaboration with Wendy’s which features Spicy Chicken and Baconator.

A lot of flavors are about to come up or are on the waiting list as these snacks are easy to assemble. One of its most interesting flavors is Byron Pringles Kansas City BBQ Stack. This flavor contains BBQ, Jalapenos, Sour Cream, and Onion Flavour. It is based on Kansas City Chiefs player Bryon Pringles.

Prosecco Sparkling Wine is one of the most limited and authentic wines in Italy. When Pringles launched the theme Xmas Dinner Party in that Prosecco and Pink peppercorn flavor was introduced. 

This new product faced a lot of backlashes and was charged with identity theft in Italy. So what was considered to be a fun product turned out to be a theft. Italian authorities launched a full-fledged investigation against Pringles and its various cans were seized.

Though the company claimed to have already informed the relevant authorities, the Italian authorities denied any such contact.

What Are Pringles Made Of?

This savory snack is a combination of a lot of ingredients but its major key ingredients are :

• Wheat
• Rice 
• Corn
• Potatoes Flour

The content of potato in it is almost less than 50%.

Pringles Initial Name and Its Controversy

Many people are still not aware of the fact that the original name of Pringles was not ” Pringles”. So What was it? Initially or Originally it was known as” Newfangled potato chips”. However, this name was very much debated and was also in the legal bar as it does not have an adequate amount of potato quantity to be called ” potato chips”. Hence from here the birth of Pringles started.

Only 40% of Potatoes

Maybe after eating or just looking at Pringles one can be diverted and can say they are potato chips. However, let’s break the myth that only 40% of potatoes are used in the making of Pringles.

On the other hand, potatoes are the sole ingredient in chips. But the case of Pringles is different, there are a lot of ingredients used in it. Frying usual potato chips are time-consuming but in the case of 

Form of Pringles

The shape and size of Pringles make it unique and CK and various scientists are behind this. To maintain the freshness and tactics of the snack, a saddle-shaped design was given to Pringles.

Apart from the fact that a lot of focus was given to its packaging, vacuum-sealed cans were used. In Engineering Language this saddle shape is known as ” hyperbolic paraboloid”. They have a perfect curved shape.

The ingredients used in it are rolled out until a thick paste is made out of them. Then they are cut into a cookie shape.

Legal Issues Involving Pringles as Potato Chips

The legal battle of Pringles in almost all the countries is mostly regarding whether it should be called a ” potato chip” or not. As per traditional notions, potato chips are that one has been fired and made by craving thin slices of potatoes.

Dehydrated potatoes are used in the making of Pringles. They are not solely made of potatoes, it’s a mixture of various ingredients like flour, corn, cream, etc.

However, the FDA( United States Food and Drug Administration) decided to give the liberty of Pringles being called chips but the packaging needs to come with a disclaimer.

To drop out all the legal notions attached to the wood chips, Pringles decided to use the term” Crips”. However, the fight was still not over in 2007 in Britain Pringles was drawn into another legal battle.

But the grounds were not the marketing but it was a tax-related issue. In Britain, a tax amount of 17.5% is charged on products that are completely or partially made of potatoes.

So Pringles was drawn into it and to suppress these charges Pringle’s lawyers claimed that the potatoes used in it were not technical. After a lot of legal battles, Pringles were termed as ” potato chips” by the British Supreme Court and had to pay a whopping tax amount of $160 million.

Pringles Packaging

Pringles’ unique can packaging stands out. The vacuum can keep chips intact and fresh. But the cylindrical was used by people for various multipurpose innovative ideas. Like a phone speaker or bird feeder etc.

One of the most interesting incidents was in Wichita Falls in 2019. Where a woman from Texas used the can for sneakily holding wine. Though she was arrested, this stunt became a unique marketing strategy and a bar in Houston started serving drinks in the Pringles mini chips can for a price of $3.

Pringles Logo

Pringles logo has undergone a lot of changes with time. But the initial design remained the same: that is the round head of Julius Pringles, with a big mustache.

However various experiments were conducted on its face. His eyes’ colors changed from red to black and a lot of changes were also made to his hairstyle. The Pringles mascot only shows her face; his body was never revealed.

Annoyed by this, John Oliver’s “Last week tonight ” host aired about this a lot.

His fans also did not sit quietly and come up with very weird and Mocky ideas for the Mascot body. Like a Swimsuit cover, an octopus, etc. Later Oliver decides to donate $10,000 to Feeding America but on the condition that Pringles reveals the mascot’s body.

Soon after that on Twitter Pringles revealed JuliusPringle’ss body.

Conclusion

We hope this article was useful to you and you learned a lot of facts about Pringles, so if you are ever asked What Snack Food Was Legally Barred From Calling Its Product “Chips”?

You can answer quickly with a valid reason that it is “Pringles”. And it can’t be considered as chips.