PepsiCo India Begins Trials To Replace Palm Oil In Lay's Potato Chips: Report (Photo on X LAY'S @LAYS)PepsiCo India, manufacturer of famous potato chips brand Lay’s, has reportedly begun trials to replace palm oil and palmolein with a mixture of sunflower oil and palmolein in the production of Lay’s. A company spokesperson said that the trials involving the blend in some of its products began last year, and thus the company came among the few players in India to take a step in this direction, Times Of India reports.
The company has taken the measures amid increasing criticism over the use of palm oil in packaged products in India. Though the oil is cheaper, its use is believed to be an unhealthy ingredient in these products.
It is reported that palm oil has higher saturated fat content, which may increase LDL cholesterol and heart disease risk if taken more. The palm oil use is common among dozens of packaged food brands in India. Companies used the oil for making salty snacks, biscuits, chocolates, noodles, bread, and ice cream, due to the oil’s cheap rate compared to sunflower or soyabean oil.
Notably, at the company’s headquarters in the United States, PepsiCo uses oils such as sunflower, corn, and canola oil, which are considered ‘heart healthy.’
The US PepsiCo website says that their chips are cooked in oils that may be considered heart-healthy. “Sunflower, corn and canola oils contain good mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which can help lower LDL bad cholesterol and maintain HDL good cholesterol as part of a calorie controlled diet..”
The spokesperson added that the company is working to reduce the amount of salt in its snacks to less than 1.3 milligrams of sodium per calorie by the year 2025, the report quoted.
There have been allegations that multinational packaged food companies are using different, often cheaper and unhealthy ingredients in their products sold in developing countries. Several health advocates and social media influencers have raised such issues.