Arsthbt

A person is suing TGI Friday's for false advertising regarding their bagged "Potato Skins" snacks. Part of the claim is that potato skins are associated with healthy eating, which makes the snack stand out among other confections.

The interesting claim is that:

The Idaho Potato Commission and others inside and outside the industry have associated potato skins with healthy eating since they started appearing on restaurant menus a half-century ago.

Does the Idaho Potato Commission associate potato skins with healthy eating?

What I'm assuming here is that "potato skins" is referring to the scooped potato halves filled with cheese, bacon, and other things, much like TGI Friday's in-restaurant appetizer.

Doctor Potato says you should be eating the skin of the potato because that’s where most of the nutrients come from.

Doctor Potato is a character featured prominently on the Idaho Potato Commission website.

In several postings they sign responsible for they do just that:

Kids Menus - Healthful Tips
Fries are always a kid’s favorite. One suggestion that keeps these on the menu but makes them healthier is to cut the potato portion costs but fill out the plate by adding nutritious dipping sauces such as fresh tomato salsa. Another crowd favorite, especially in casual dining situations, is a baked potato skin with smaller quantities of fillings.

History of Potato Skins on the Menu

Idaho® Potatoes and Chemicals

Q:
Can you tell me if the skins of Idaho potatoes absorb the chemical sprays that might be used on them?

Leaving the Skins on Potato Salad

Q:
Is there any reason the skins cannot be left on a potato when making potato salad?

A:
There’s no reason at all, so my advice is to leave the skins on. The skin on a potato adds a nice texture and flavor to the salad and it’s also the healthiest part. We have several potato salad recipes with the skins intact. This link shows off traditional, classics with a twist, even fried.

Should I Be Eating The Skin Of The Potato?

Yes. Eat the skin to capture all the natural nutrition of a russet potato. The potato skin has more nutrients than the interior of the potato. It has lots of fiber, about half of a medium potato’s fiber is from the skin.
**
**Baked Idaho® Potato with salsa makes for a low calorie healthy lunch, try it!

This is of course quite the stupid advice in general.

The skin is where this solanacea plant stores all its toxins, like chaconine and solanine:

Solanine poisoning is primarily displayed by gastrointestinal and neurological disorders. Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, burning of the throat, cardiac dysrhythmia, nightmares, headache, dizziness, itching, eczema, thyroid problems, and inflammation and pain in the joints. In more severe cases, hallucinations, loss of sensation, paralysis, fever, jaundice, dilated pupils, hypothermia, and death have been reported.
Ingestion of solanine in moderate amounts can cause death. One study suggests that doses of 2 to 5 mg/kg of body weight can cause toxic symptoms, and doses of 3 to 6 mg/kg of body weight can be fatal.
Symptoms usually occur 8 to 12 hours after ingestion, but may occur as rapidly as 10 minutes after eating high-solanine foods.

If it's not a very young potato from a breeding target of very low alkaloid content that was stored properly (and because of the breeding target would have required quite an application of pesticides) then the skins should always be removeed quite graciously.

Tjeert T. Mensinga et al.: "Potato glycoalkaloids and adverse effects in humans: an ascending dose study", Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology
Volume 41, Issue 1, February 2005, Pages 66-72. DOI

An analysis of the literature proves that GAs, the natural components of potato, clearly are toxic to both humans and animals. The concentration of GAs in potatoes destined for human consumption in many countries, 200 mg kg21 – which is generally accepted as a ‘total alkaloid taste standard’ – has a ‘zero’ safety threshold. One reason for this conclusion is best stated by the words of Parnell et al. [25], in a paper published 20 years ago: ‘Many authors have assumed without further evidence that levels below 200 mg/kg are safe. They ignore the fact that the 200 mg/kg (FW) level only relates to acute and/or subacute effects and not to possible chronic effects...’ It is obvious that the existing total alkaloid taste standard should be revised and new guidelines for potato consumers and breeders should be formulated.

Yaroslav I. Korpan et al.: "Potato glycoalkaloids: true safety or false sense of security?", Trends in Biotechnology, Volume 22, Issue 3, P147-151, March 01, 2004. DOI