You and everyone else. Originally intended as a cholesterol-lowering drug, olestra was invented 25 years ago. Failing that test, the manufacturer regrouped and submitted it as a fat substitute. Olestra works by passing through your body before calories or fat can be absorbed. It will be appearing in your supermarket in the form of chips and crackers.
Most people think the olestra-fried stuff tastes pretty much like the real thing.
In addition, it leaches fat-soluble vitamins, such as A, K and E, out of the body as it passes through. The manufacturer claims to have remedied these problems in newer formulations. Olestra may sound too good to be true, and in some ways, it is.