For more than eight decades, Iowa-based Sterzing Food Co. has stamped a simple “Tri-Some” slogan on its iconic bags of potato chips. After months of struggles to adapt to a government-mandated change to its recipe, president Craig Smith is ready for a new spin on that straightforward message. “How about ‘Tri-Some again?'” he said Thursday, chuckling. “Please.” The 20-employee Burlington company announced via its Facebook page that it believes that, at last, it has found an altered recipe that comes as close as the company can —within legal limits — to match the old taste and feel.
Smith said the company has been put through the emotional wringer since it announced this past May that it had been tinkering with its Sterzing’s Potato Chips formula. It made the move in light of a 2015 U.S. Food and Drug Administration order banning oils that contain trans fats. Manufacturers had until this past June to comply.
The newest chip has a base oil that hasn’t been used in their tinkering before, and the company is satisfied with the result.
