Talk about a betrayal. Let me quickly summarize. A TLDR version of this article, if you will:
Boulder Canyon Avocado Oil Classic Sea Salt Kettle Style Potato Chips = Garbage
Siete Kettle Cooked Sea Salt Potato Chips Made with Avocado Oil = Garbage
Siete Maiz Sea Salt Corn Tortilla Chips Made with Avocado Oil = Garbage
Kettle Brand Sea Salt with a Hint of Pink Peppercorn Chips Made with Avocado Oil = Garbage
Kettle Brand Apple Cider Vinegar Chips Made with Avocado Oil = Garbage
Jackson’s Avocado Oil Sweet Potato Chips = Garbage
Jackson’s Kettle Cooked Sea Salt Potato Chips Only with Avocado Oil = Garbage
“Garbage” as I define it for the purposes of this article simply means that the product is likely to have unhealthy ingredients in it and let’s face it, that label applies to most of what you see on supermarket shelves today. These unhealthy ingredients include things like GMOs (genetically modified), artificial sweeteners, pesticide and herbicide residues, artificial colors and preservatives to name just a few. Those things are not food, nor do they belong in food.
In this particular case, the “garbage” designation is earned due to the presence of seed oils. Products — in this case it is chips — that are advertised as being cooked in avocado oil were proven to be counterfeit products by scientific testing performed by a legitimate laboratory. The laboratory detected the presence of undesirable ingredients like canola, safflower, soybean, sunflower, and corn oils. Exactly the kinds of oils that health conscious people like myself go out of our way to avoid.
I have been avoiding seed oils for at least the last five years and there are clear benefits. I lost about 20 pounds without any additional dietary changes or exercise routine and it takes a lot more time for me to sunburn when I spend time outside in the summer. I am also confident that there are many improvements I cannot see but may prevent a myriad of serious health problems in the future.
I first stumbled onto the seed oil scam back around 2018 when I somehow discovered the work of the late Ray Peat. It took me a while but I was eventually convinced that he was right. Since then, many others have come on board and now even average consumers have probably heard something about the dangers of seed oils. Why do you think products boasting about the use of avocado oils are showing up?
Sadly — and as I have come to expect — many of the producers of these “avocado oil” products are lying to us as the recent UC Davis study reveals. And this is particularly galling to me because I have purchased and consumed these products on numerous occasions. The Boulder Canyon potato chips were the ones I purchased most frequently and were the first to show up in the local retailers in my area. I surely did not purchase them weekly and was more likely to grab a large bag during one of our monthly trips to Costco and that means I have not been as seed oil free as I thought I was. I now know it was a mistake to believe what a big food manufacturer was telling me.
The principal researcher for the US Davis study is Dr. Selina Wang and she did backpedal somewhat when it came to laying the blame for the use of counterfeit oils. She suggested that the oils were adulterated by the companies that sold the oil to the chip manufacturers and while I do not doubt that, I place as much blame on them as I do for the companies that supplied the bogus oil. And here’s why.
The companies manufacturing those snack products are proudly stamping their name on each and every bag. It’s clear that it is their product. It is their responsibility to ensure that what is in those bags is 100 percent what they say it is. They should be testing every shipment of oil they receive. People are buying these specialty products and paying a premium for them specifically because they believe that they are less harmful to their health than their traditional counterparts and when that is not the case, that is a spectacular failure and a serious betrayal of trust. If someone were to tell me that was criminal behavior I would not argue with them.
Does it seem reasonable for a company like Utz Brands — makers of Boulder Canyon chips — to thoroughly test the products they used to prepare products that will be sold to the public for them to eat? Well, let’s see. Considering that Utz reported an adjusted net income of $21.3 million for the first quarter of 2026, I think they could make room in the budget for some testing that would ensure they are selling what they say they are selling. Clearly, they did not do that and they should pay for that.
I would love to see a class-action lawsuit against these fraudulent manufacturers hurt them where it really matters: in their wallet. Losing money is the only thing that actually gets the attention of big, greedy companies like Utz, Siete or the others on the list who used fake avocado oil to produce the products they advertised as containing only avocado oil. My refusal to ever buy another product they produce will not be something they notice. I just hope a lot of other consumers follow suit.
There are other companies and other products on the list of those using counterfeit avocado oil but I am focused on the products that I am familiar with and have personally used. As I indicated, I was a somewhat regular buyer of the Boulder Canyon “avocado oil” potato chips since about 2018. I enjoy potato chips but now I find myself happy that they are not something I want all of the time. I have also had the Siete brand “avocado oil” potato chips but only a handful of times. I think I tried the Lay’s version once but I believe they are fairly new and I recall that I sampled them earlier this year.
When I first started purchasing potato chips that were advertised as being made with avocado oil there were also as many that were made with olive oil. For the time being it appears that may be a better option for those of us hoping to avoid consuming the dreaded seed oils. But there may a problem with that option. From my experience, the presence of chips made with olive oil has been greatly reduced recently. All the focus seems to have shifted to avocado oil — at least in the stores I frequent. That means I will probably not be consuming potato chips of any kind for the foreseeable future.
Sadly, these kinds of stories are nothing new. Big companies lie to consumers all the time. They seem willing to do anything that does not kill, injure or sicken people outright in order to increase their profits. It’s clear that these companies are being run by greedy psychopaths that care little or not at all for anyone but themselves or those in the small circle of people they at least claim to care about.
I am glad that we have people like the researchers at UC Davis on our side — or at least appearing to be — who are seeking truth and are willing to reveal what they discover for the whole world to see. I find it hard to describe how disappointed I am in companies like Utz Brands and Siete (owned by Pepsico) who will blatantly lie or at least demonsrate a stunning lack of credibility by selling products to the public that do not contain what they are alleged to contain. I just hope a sufficient number of consumers vote with their wallets and that results in these products going stale on store shelves. They surely will not be appearing in my shopping cart again.
References (in case you did not see the links above:
Most Avocado Oil Chips and Dressings Are Adulterated, Study Finds
Authenticity of avocado and olive oils used as ingredients in commercially processed foods