The various types of french fries

Potato products are an indispensable part of the food service and retail assortment.

Over the years, we have developed a range of potato products from different suppliers, among which our own brands SUPREME and Professional,  to meet this growing demand.

As it’s a diversified product group, there  are various designations to specify a certain product.

What do the different french fries specifications 6/6, 9/9, “shoestring”, etc. mean?

“Shoestring” isn’t a mere marketing expression, but comes from the FAO/WHO standard for deep-frozen French fries. Therein the designations of the various French fries are defined as follows:

Shoestring fries are the smallest, with 5 to 8 mm on the largest cut surface. They are often found in lengths of 6 mm or 7 mm, hence the designation “6/6” or “7/7”.

Similarly, medium-length fries measure 8 to 15 mm on the largest cutting surface, thick-cut fries measure 12 to 16 mm and extra-large fries measure over 16 mm on the largest cutting surface. Thus, “9/9 straight-cut” fries describe medium-length fries with a smooth surface, as opposed to “wavy-cut” fries, which have an undulating cut with a wavy surface.

Attention to local legislation!

In addition to these international guidelines, there are also national standards. In France, for example, shoestring fries are limited to 5-7 mm, medium-sized French fries have an upper limit of 12 mm (instead of 15 mm according to the FAO), …

On the other hand, German legislation sets the fat content limit for pre-fried and frozen French fries at a maximum of 8.5% when they leave the production plant, whereas the French standard only authorizes a fat content of 6%.

These explanations are not exhaustive. If you want to be sure you’re buying the right product for your target market, contact us!