Source study: Natalie Lopez-Alvarez, Xueqi Li, Benjamin Vizgordiski, and Selina C. Wang, “Authenticity of avocado and olive oils used as ingredients in commercially processed foods,” Applied Food Research 6 (2026), 102389.
The dominant undeclared oil was almost certainly high- or mid-oleic sunflower oil, not canola oil. Only two of the 28 avocado-oil-labelled chip lots—samples 6 and 9—look essentially authentic.
The estimates below treat every measured profile as a mixture of no more than two oils. Percentages refer to the lipid recovered from the finished chips, are rounded to the nearest 5–10%, and generally have uncertainty of approximately ±15 percentage points.
| Samples | Product identification | Lot 1 reconstruction | Lot 2 reconstruction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Boulder Canyon Avocado Oil Classic Sea Salt chips | 95% high-oleic sunflower, 5% avocado | 100% high-oleic sunflower |
| 3–4 | Boulder Canyon Olive Oil Classic Sea Salt chips | 100% high-oleic sunflower | 100% olive |
| 5–6 | LesserEvil Moonions Intergalactic Onion corn rings | 60% avocado, 40% high-oleic sunflower | Approximately 100% avocado |
| 7–8 | Baked Lay’s Barbecue potato crisps, olive-oil formulation | 100% olive | 100% olive |
| 9–10 | Simply Tostitos Sea Salt Made With Avocado Oil | Approximately 100% avocado | 35% avocado, 65% mid-oleic sunflower |
| 11–12 | Trader Joe’s Kettle Cooked Olive Oil potato chips | 100% olive | 100% olive |
| 13–14 | Siete avocado-oil potato chips | 20% avocado, 80% high-oleic sunflower | 40% avocado, 60% high-oleic sunflower |
| 15–16 | Siete Maíz tortilla chips | 85% mid-oleic sunflower, 15% native corn oil | 85% mid-oleic sunflower, 15% native corn oil |
| 17–18 | Kettle pink-peppercorn avocado chips | 90% olive, 10% sunflower | 10% avocado, 90% high-oleic sunflower |
| 19–20 | Kettle apple-cider-vinegar avocado chips | 20% avocado, 80% high-oleic sunflower | Approximately 100% high-oleic sunflower |
| 21–22 | Jackson’s sweet-potato chips | Approximately 100% high-oleic sunflower | 20% avocado, 80% high-oleic sunflower |
| 23–24 | Jackson’s potato chips | 15% avocado, 85% high-oleic sunflower | 40% avocado, 60% high-oleic sunflower |
| 25–26 | Sprouts Organic Sea Salt & Hint of Lime tortilla chips | 85% avocado, 15% native corn oil | 65% high-/mid-oleic sunflower, 35% corn oil |
| 27–28 | Good Health Avocado Oil Sea Salted potato chips | 10% avocado, 90% high-oleic sunflower | Approximately 100% mid-oleic sunflower |
| 29–30 | Sensible Portions veggie straws | 10% avocado, 90% high-oleic sunflower | 10% avocado, 90% high-oleic sunflower |
| 31–32 | Torres EVOO potato chips | 100% olive | 100% olive |
| 33–34 | Bettergoods Hatch Chile chips | 70% high-oleic sunflower, 30% soybean | Approximately 100% soybean |
| 35–36 | Probably Sprouts Sea Salt Kettle Style Avocado Oil potato chips | Approximately 100% mid-oleic sunflower | Approximately 100% high-oleic sunflower |
| 37–38 | Graza “The Chips” EVOO potato chips | 100% olive | 100% olive |
Most failed avocado-oil samples have only approximately 0.6–1.5% palmitoleic acid and 1–2% cis-vaccenic acid, versus roughly 4–7% of each in genuine avocado oil. Their elevated campesterol, stigmasterol, and delta-7 sterols—combined with depressed beta-sitosterol—are characteristic of sunflower- or safflower-family oil.
Significant canola oil is effectively ruled out in the chip samples. They lack the combined brassicasterol, C20:1, and alpha-linolenic-acid signature visible in the workbook’s canola comparator.
Sample 34 is unambiguous soybean oil: 52.5% linoleic acid, 6.5% alpha-linolenic acid, and only 24.8% oleic acid. The article independently identifies this sample as having a soybean-oil composition.
The authors’ controlled frying experiment found changes of only approximately 0–0.6 percentage point in the major fatty acids. Consequently, frying cannot plausibly account for the differences between the commercial samples and genuine avocado oil.
The supplement identifies products only by sample number. The matches below were reconstructed from its ingredient lists, package weights, front-label wording, prices, and alphabetized list of represented brands. Adjacent samples are separate lots of the same product. Formulations and package sizes may have changed since the study.
| Samples | Probable product | Brief best evidence | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Boulder Canyon Avocado Oil Classic Sea Salt | Exact 5.25 oz size and three-ingredient potato–avocado oil–salt formula | Very high |
| 3–4 | Boulder Canyon Olive Oil Classic Sea Salt | Exact 6.5 oz size and potato–olive oil–sea salt formula | Very high |
| 5–6 | LesserEvil Moonions Intergalactic Onion | Distinctive organic milled-corn rings with cane sugar, tapioca, onion, garlic, and spices; 6 oz | High |
| 7–8 | Baked Lay’s Barbecue potato crisps, olive-oil formulation | Distinctive dried-potato/corn-starch base and barbecue seasoning; front says “Made With Olive Oil”; 6.25 oz | High |
| 9–10 | Simply Tostitos Sea Salt Made With Avocado Oil | Exact corn–avocado oil–sea salt formula and the represented Simply Frito-Lay brand; study package was 7.5 oz | High |
| 11–12 | Trader Joe’s Kettle Cooked Olive Oil Potato Chips | Exact 7 oz size and potato–olive oil–salt formula | Very high |
| 13–14 | Siete Kettle Cooked Sea Salt Potato Chips | Exact 5.5 oz size and potato–avocado oil–sea salt formula | Very high |
| 15–16 | Siete Maíz Sea Salt Totopos | Exact 7.5 oz size and unusual nixtamalized organic white/yellow-corn blend with lime | Very high |
| 17–18 | Kettle Brand Avocado Oil Sea Salt & Pink Peppercorn | Unique pink-peppercorn seasoning, avocado-oil claim, and exact 6 oz size | Very high |
| 19–20 | Kettle Brand Avocado Oil Apple Cider Vinegar | Unique apple-cider-vinegar flavor, matching detailed seasoning, avocado-oil claim, and 6 oz size | Very high |
| 21–22 | Jackson’s Sea Salt Sweet Potato Chips | Exact sweet potato–avocado oil–sea salt formula and 5 oz size | Very high |
| 23–24 | Jackson’s Sea Salt Kettle Potato Chips | Exact 5 oz potato product and distinctive “Only With Avocado Oil” wording | High |
| 25–26 | Sprouts Organic Sea Salt & Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips | Exact 9 oz size and stone-ground organic yellow corn, avocado oil, sea salt, and lime formula | Very high |
| 27–28 | Good Health Avocado Oil Sea Salted Kettle Style Potato Chips | Exact 5 oz three-ingredient formula and “100% Avocado Oil” claim | Very high |
| 29–30 | Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Straws Made With Avocado Oil | Distinctive potato starch/flour and corn-starch straw base; exact 6 oz size | High |
| 31–32 | Torres 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil Potato Chips | Exact 4.41 oz/125 g imported package and potato–EVOO–salt formula | Very high |
| 33–34 | Bettergoods Hatch Chile Tortilla Chips | Exact 10 oz size and unique cassava flour, yellow corn, Hatch chile, and seasoning-canola formula | Very high |
| 35–36 | Sprouts Sea Salt Kettle Style Avocado Oil Potato Chips | An exact 5 oz potato–avocado oil–sea salt product exists and Sprouts is represented; the study price and generic transcription do not uniquely confirm it | Tentative |
| 37–38 | Graza “The Chips” EVOO Potato Chips | Matching 5 oz premium EVOO potato chips and approximately $6.50 price | Very high |
The matching also prevents overinterpreting incidental fats. Corn products contribute native corn lipid; Bettergoods lists a small amount of canola oil in its seasoning; and Baked Lay’s lists soy lecithin. Those sources can explain traces but not the bulk profiles. In particular, seasoning canola cannot explain sample 34’s 52.5% linoleic acid, 6.5% alpha-linolenic acid, and 24.8% oleic acid, which identify soybean oil as its principal fat.
The oil identities are more certain than the proportions. Normalized sterol percentages are strong source identifiers, but exact oil mass fractions cannot be calculated from them without the total sterol concentration of each oil. Fatty-acid percentages were therefore used for approximate mass fractions, while sterols were used principally to choose the oil family.
Corn-based products also contribute native corn lipid. A reconstructed corn-oil fraction does not necessarily mean that refined corn oil was added deliberately; some or all of it may originate in the corn itself.
Finally, this analytical panel cannot reliably distinguish high-oleic sunflower oil from high-oleic safflower oil. Sunflower is the more likely commercial frying oil, but “sunflower” in the table should be understood as the high-/mid-oleic sunflower-or-safflower family where noted.