Tostitos

Tostitos is a brand of tortilla chips and (more recently) dips produced by Frito-Lay. In January 1978 Frito-Lay's product development group led by Jack Liczkowski had completed development of TOSTITOS, authentic Mexican-style tortilla chips. The chips were round, made of white corn and had a more authentic "Mexican" flavor. Part of achieving this authenticity occurred after research discovered that Mexicans, after cooking corn with lime, did not rinse the corn completely; therefore, the resulting stone ground corn masa has higher content of lime and lower pH. When deep fat frying the formed chips, calcium hydroxide reacts with oil and gives this specific taste. After successful test marketing in 1979, Tostitos Traditional Flavor and Tostitos Nacho Cheese Flavor went in 1980 into national distribution in the United States and have reached the sales of $140 million, making it one of the most successful new product introductions in Frito-Lay history. The chips are about 1 ⅓ of an inch in diameter and are often eaten with salsa or nacho cheese dip, which the company also produces.

Some Frito-Lay brand seasoned products, including some flavors of Tostitos, contain pork enzymes in addition to herbs, cheese and other seasonings. Frito-Lay's web site states that they use enzymes from pigs (porcine enzymes) in some of their seasoned snack products to develop 'unique flavors'. The presence of pig-derived ingredients makes them unsuitable for vegetarians, vegans, as well as non-kosher (sinful for observant Jews to eat), and haraam (sinful for Muslims to eat).