PepsiCo First To Reduce ‘Unhealthy’ Palm Oil In Lay’s Potato Chips; Will Others Follow?

New Delhi: There were concerns about use of palm oil, an unhealthy oil, in all packaged food items since last year.

PepsiCo had begun trials to have a blend of sunflower and Palmolein oil in its Lay’s potato chips.

Social media influencer Revant Himatsingka shared the information about the company’s decision to reduce use of palm oil.

“Big win! Lay’s India to reduce palm oil usage… After Lay’s stops palm oil, it will also put pressure on all other brands like Bingo, Haldiram to potentially replace palm oil!” Revant posted on X.

PepsiCo said it was among the first companies to begin trials.

“PepsiCo India initiated trials of a blend of Sunflower Oil and Palmolein Oil in certain parts of our portfolio last year, becoming one of the few players in the food industry in India to do so,” NDTV quoted a company spokesperson as saying.

The Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) recently issued a set of 17 dietary guidelines calling for moderate intake of oil and fats, and choosing a variety of oil seeds, nuts, nutri cereals and legumes to meet daily needs of fats and essential fatty acids (EFA).

PepsiCo is also working on reducing salt content in its snacks, The Times of India reported.

According to the company’s US website, PepsiCo’s chips sold there are cooked in heart-healthy oils (sunflower, corn and canola oils) that have at least 80 per cent unsaturated fat, less than 20 per cent saturated fat, and 0 gram of trans fat.

In India, the company used Palmolein oil which is a liquid fraction made from refining palm oil derived from the reddish pulp of the fruit of oil palms. It is low in cost, but has high saturated fat content which is considered unhealthy and yet used by almost all brands.

That is set to change now.