Both ingredients lists are incorrect in the context presented, as they were prepared under different regulatory schemes. The first hint of this is that the American list says they are prepared in vegetable oil and goes on to list specific oils, while the British list simply says they are prepared in non-hydrogenated vegetable oil. (I believe salt is also added after cooking in the US, but only the UK list describes it thusly, once again letting you know you’re not comparing apples to apples.)
First, how do US fries have 14 ingredients, and how do UK fries have 4? The only way you get 4 UK ingredients is if you skip the oil(s) they’re prepared in (presumably as duplicative of the earlier-listed vegetable oil) and don’t count sub-ingredients.
UK:
- Potatoes
- Vegetable oil
- Dextrose
- Salt
US:
- Potatoes
- Vegetable Oil
- Dextrose
- Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate
- Salt
- Dimethylpolysiloxane
Wow, the US uses two additional ingredients!
