Green potato chips

Every once in a while — less often than a few years ago — you’ll open a bag of potato chips and see one which isn’t like the others. It’s green-ish, especially around the edges. Why Potatoes grow underground and are shielded from sunlight — usually. Sometimes, parts emerge above ground, and those sections turn green as chlorophyll develops. Most green potatoes don’t make it to the stores. But on occasion, a green-tinted potato may find its way into a potato chip factory and, eventually, a slice may sneak into a bag of chips. Chlorophyll is non-toxic and harmless, but, as the website Mental Floss points out, “in the process of a potato going green … conditions are also right for it to synthesize more of a … poison called solanine.” Solanine, in large enough amounts, is really bad for you — it can cause “vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, and even paralysis of the central nervous system.” But don’t worry too much. One would have to eat about twenty or so green potatoes in a day to fall ill. A medium-sized potato yields about 36 chips. So it’s safe to say that if you ate 720 potato chips in a day, you’re going to get sick, even if the chips aren’t of the green variety. So if you come across a green chip, you’re probably okay.