MSU, Better Made team up to find the perfect potato chip

Decades ago, one man looked at a potato chip and said, “I can make this better.” That turned into a quest -- and it turns out there’s a lot of science behind a bag of chips. Here’s a quick spud history:  The potato is one of the oldest foods on the planet, originating about 10,000 years ago in South America. Today, it is the third most important food crop in the world, behind only rice and wheat. More than a billion people eat them, and there are more than 4,000 varieties worldwide. But here is where it gets good: it can take up to 15 years to create just one new potato variety, because potatoes, and we mean this literally, are genetically weird and more complicated than most crops. In Michigan, potatoes mean one thing: chips. This state is serious about the potato chip. About 70% of the state’s potato crop goes straight to chip makers, with about 50 varieties grown specifically for chips. But one Michigan State researcher thinks we can do even better for your afternoon snack. And Better Made is all in -- the company processes more than 50 million pounds of potatoes every single year, so they know a thing or two about what makes a great chip. Phil Gusmano with Better Made Snack Foods, and David Douches, potato breeder at Michigan State, joined Local 4 Live to talk about the collaboration.