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Crunching the numbers: 10 facts you didn't know about crisps

THE nation is facing a crisp crunch – just as millions of us are enjoying munching the snacks while watching the World Cup.

We reported yesterday how extreme weather has affected the potato crop, leading to a shortage of the essential ingredient and that could spell bad news for Brits as we gobble our way through six billion packs a year!

1. BRITS eat half a billion crisps a day – made out of 17million potatoes. We eat more than anyone else in Europe – an average 100 packs each annually.

2. THE bagged snacks industry is worth £2bn in the UK and £30bn is reckoned to be spent on crisps around the world every year.

3. THE Americans claim they invented what they call the potato chip in 1853 when New York chef George Crum made them for a customer who complained his chips were too fat.

4. BUT we Brits can also claim to have got there first. William Kitchiner’s 1817 book, The Cook’s Oracle, contains a recipe for “potatoes fried in slices”.

5. THE first crisps served in sealed bags emerged in 1920s. The first big British brand, Smiths, served a twist of salt with them.

6. IRISHMAN Joe “Spud” Murphy, of the firm Tayto, pioneered the first flavour – cheese and onion – in 1954.

7. WALKERS, founded in 1948 and famously fronted by TV’s Gary Lineker, are the country’s biggest crisp makers, with 56% of the market.

8. THEY boast the biggest crisp factory in the world in Leicester, churning out 7m bags a day. Walkers get through 350,000 tonnes of potatoes a year.

9. OVER the years flavours of crisps have included Guinness, Marmite, Spaghetti Bolognese and BBQ Kangaroo.

10. WALKERS even came up with special Vardy Salted after the Leicester and England striker Jamie Vardy in the club’s 2016 title-winning season.

and as always have a chilled day from the Viking