Since its approval in 1996, there has also been detailed post-marketing surveillance. Consumer Choice Olestra provides consumers with additional choices of decreased calorie foods.
Snacks containing olestra are safe and enjoyable.
Olestra provides an effective means by which consumers can decrease both the fat and the calorie content of their diets. No other fat substitute currently on the market can withstand the high temperatures used for frying snack foods. Thus olestra provides a unique choice to Americans who include fried snack foods in their diets. Some consumers who sampled snacks made with olestra and then experienced some degree of gastrointestinal effects attributed their symptoms to olestra. It is more likely, however, that the connection was due more to widespread adverse media coverage than to any effect of olestra itself.