Epogee: Olestra 2.0 in Disguise?

Back in the 1990s, Olestra was sold as the miracle fat substitute that would let consumers binge on chips without the calories. The reality was far uglier. Because Olestra passed straight through the human body undigested, it famously caused diarrhea, cramping, and the now-notorious “anal leakage.” Public backlash was swift, and after years of ridicule and warnings, Olestra was quietly pulled from the shelves.

Now, decades later, food companies are once again tinkering with synthetic fats—and the latest incarnation is Epogee (EPG). On paper, Epogee is pitched as a technological upgrade: it provides the same creamy, indulgent texture of fat, but the body still doesn’t absorb it. The supposed “fix” is that Epogee stays solid at body temperature, which prevents the embarrassing leakage issues that destroyed Olestra’s reputation.

But critics say this isn’t innovation—it’s a rerun. Instead of sliding through the body, Epogee can sit and congeal in the gut, leading to a different set of problems: gastrointestinal distress, bloating, and constipation. In other words, what Olestra flushed out, Epogee can clog up. Either way, the body is still unable to digest it, raising the same fundamental red flag: a synthetic fat that humans can’t process is being slipped into snack foods as if it were harmless.

Consumers should ask themselves a hard question: if a fat doesn’t behave like real food in the body, should it really be in the food supply at all? With Epogee quietly working its way into protein bars, frozen treats, and “better-for-you” snacks, the parallels to Olestra are impossible to ignore. The packaging may be shiny and the marketing promises slick, but at its core, Epogee looks like nothing more than Olestra 2.0—trading anal leakage for intestinal blockage.