Olestra Is Popular But . . .

Never before have so many hungered for so little. The new no-fat, low-calorie chips made with Olestra have become the most successful product launch in history.

"Since February, consumers have purchased more than 80 million bags and that's about $150 million," said Lisa Markley of Frito Lay.

But since Olestra--marketed under the brand name Olean--was approved for use in foods two years ago, it has prompted a record number of 5,400 complaints.

Most people claim Olean--which doesn't get absorbed by the digestive tract-- gave them diarrhea (71 percent) or abdominal cramps (67 percent).

The FDA requires any product made with Olean to put a label on the package highlighting those possible side effects. Proctor and Gamble, which makes the fat substitute says more than 99.9 percent of consumers had no problems.

"There is no difference in digestive effects when people are eating the Olean snacks compared to when they are eating full fat snacks," said Suzette Middleton, a spokeswoman for Procter & Gamble.

Olestra has had it critics from day one. When the FDA meets next week for its scheduled review, it will hear calls to either take Olestra off the market or at the very least strengthen warning labels.

Harvard doctor Walter Willett has a bigger concern than stomach upset - Olestra dramatically reduces levels in the body of carotinoids, which Willett claims help protect against heart disease and cancer.

Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health said,"I think it's very likely that Olestra could cause increased rates of heart attack, strokes, various cancers, cataracts and other causes of blindness."

But both Procter & Gamble and the FDA say the health effects of carotinoids are unclear at this point.

Despite the criticisms of Olestra, next week's FDA meeting isn't likely to bring about any changes. The FDA has been receiving reports about Olestra's effects every few months and says, if they'd seen anything that really concerned them, they'd have acted on it by now.