"Potato crisps" is the legally proper term in the United States of America for thin, flat, round potato-based snacks that are not made chiefly of sliced potatoes. For example, Procter & Gamble's Pringles are made of potato flakes that are molded to a uniform shape, and so are legally distinct from potato chips. Other snacks that must be called potato crisps due to their manufacturing process include:
- Munchos
- Baked Lay's
- Lay's Stax
Because these products largely resemble their sliced counterparts, most Americans still call them "potato chips" anyway. The FDA forbids the use of the words "potato chips" on crisps' advertisements and packaging, so Frito-Lay and Procter & Gamble tend to prefer more abstract terms like snack food instead.
Even in their low-fat "baked" varieties, flat crispy corn-based snacks are always called "chips" (as in tortilla chips) in the U.S.