Making Better Chips

Potato chips move along a conveyor at a Better Made Snack Foods processing facility in Detroit, on Thursday, April 2, 2026

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Researchers have spent decades breeding better potatoes for chips, and their work isn't done

Researchers have spent decades breeding better potatoes for chips, and their work isn't done

There’s a surprising amount of science in a bag of potato chips. Researchers have spent decades developing chipping potatoes that can grow in all kinds of climates, avoid diseases and pests, sit in storage for months and still deliver a satisfying crunch. There are about 50 varieties of potatoes used for chips in the U.S. right now. A Michigan State University professor who developed five new potato varieties for chips in the the last 15 years is currently growing seeds for commercial testing of another. It's a bioengineered potato that can maintain a proper sugar balance when stored at colder temperatures to prevent rotting. he also has developed disease-resistant potato varieties for farmers in Africa.