Potato Chip Mystery

Today at lunch I was enjoying "Herr's Kettle Cooked Potato Chips, Mesquite BBQ flavored." While I ate, I read the ingredients, as I am wont to do. Here they are:

"choice potatoes cooked in vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: corn, cottonseed, soybean), sugar, dextrose, malted barley flour, torula yeast, salt, tomato, paprika, onion, monosodium glutamate, garlic, citric acid, spice, mesquite smoke, extractives of paprika, grill flavor (partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oil), less than 22 PPM sulfiting agents and not more than 2% silicon dioxide added (as anticaking agent)."

Did you catch it?

"choice potatoes cooked in vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: corn, cottonseed, soybean), sugar, dextrose, malted barley flour, torula yeast, salt, tomato, paprika, onion, monosodium glutamate, garlic, citric acid, spice, mesquite smoke, extractives of paprika, grill flavor (partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oil), less than 22 PPM sulfiting agents and not more than 2% silicon dioxide added (as anticaking agent)."

What is this "spice," that it should be labeled separately from salt, paprika, etc., but not defined? Mysterious. Similar to the "natural flavor" phenomenon, where products list both "natural and artificial flavors" as well as other specific ingredients. Why are some shrouded in secrecy, hiding behind these generic names?

I was also curious about "torula yeast." According to Park Tonks Ltd., based in the UK, "Torula Yeast is an inactive yeast, grown as a natural culture and then pasteurised and spray-dried. Torula Yeast is a fine, light grey-brown powder with a slightly yeasty odour and gentle meaty taste. This product is vegan, GMO free, Halal and Kosher certified." And my favorite, "Due to the product's high nutritional value, Torula Yeast is an ideal inclusion into pet foods to improve flavour and palatability."

I also found a definition from Spicy Globe Enterprises, based in Canada, "The Candida Yeast, also known as Torula Yeast, is cultivated in a pure culture containing the sugars and minerals derived from wood. After the fermentation is terminated, the yeasts are separated from the substrates, subsequently are washed carefully to eliminate any residues. Then, the yeast is thermolyzed, pasteurized and pulverized. The yeast cells burst during the thermolysis process and become inactive. They lose their capacity of fermentation but are considered a highly digestible and nutritious food."

Yum yum!

Oh, and I love the word "anticaking," which, incidentally, is not found in the OED.

My friend was enjoying the unflavored variety of Herr's Kettle Cooked Potato Chips. The ingredients:

"choice potatoes cooked in vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: corn, cottonseed, soybean) and salt. no preservatives added."

He didn't know what he was missing.