Researchers Have Found Which Crisp Packets Have The Most Air In Them

When it comes to crisps, there are three things that everybody knows: One packet is never enough, every packet is filled with more air than crisps and, if flags at Glastonbury are to be believed, Gary Lineker copulates with them.

Perhaps the most notorious fact is the second. It's tough to be 100 percent happy when opening some crisps as it's effectively a pillow of air with some crumbs in it.

Because of this, researchers have looked into which brand offers the best crisp-to-air ratio so that we all don't have to piss about choosing which is best to buy.

According to the Daily Star, CDA bods took 15 different types of crisps so they could conduct the test. They found that Popchips had the most air in their bags with 72 percent.

Credit: CDA

Dropping way down to 59 percent was McCoy's as well as Kettle Chips at 55 percent. Two stalwarts of the crisp game letting us down.

Cult favourite Mini Cheddars sat in fourth with 53 percent air, accompanied by Walkers and Squares with the same figure.

At the other end of the scale, Wotsits clawed back some dignity for the potato snack world, as the packets only contained 18 percent air, with the other 82 percent filled with crunchy, cheesy goodness.

Hula Hoops, despite having holes in the middle of them, were second to bottom with 28 percent, while Quavers, Skips, Wheat Crunchies, Monster Munch and Doritos sat above. Quite a line up, isn't it?

Credit: CDA

However, it's worth noting that manufacturers aren't simply fobbing us off with all this air, as there is a fairly obvious reason behind it.

It's actually called 'slack fill', which is needed when packets are crammed into tight spaces, put on delivery trucks or delivered in anyway so that there's an air cushion to stop them from crushing.

It's also not just oxygen that comes out of the packets once they're opened. They're filled with nitrogen, according to Mental Floss, because oxygen makes them go soggy.

Credit: CDA

"In addition to preventing staleness, the inserted gas also provides the added benefit of creating a cushioning effect to protect the fragile contents of a packet from damage," a spokesperson for The Snack, Nut and Crisp Manufacturers Association said. "The packaging expands or contracts depending on the ambient temperature, whereby the gas present in the pack will fill a larger volume when it's hotter, and a smaller volume when it's cooler.

"For this reason, the packaging is required to be of a certain size to accommodate the potential expansion of the gas. UK manufacturers are legally governed by Packaging Essential Requirements to minimize excess packaging and can be challenged legally to justify packs which are larger than 'best in class'."

Anyway, I'm off for a pack of Wotsits. What about you?

Topics: Food, Crisps

Mark McGowan

Mark is a journalist at LADbible, who joined in 2015 after a year as a freelance writer. In the past he blogged for independent football fan channel Redmen TV, after graduating from Staffordshire University with degrees in journalism and English literature. He has worked on campaigns such as UOKM8? and IIOC.