PepsiCo Australia has changed the cooking oil for its major snack brands to Australian canola oil, significantly reducing the saturated fat content in Doritos, Tostitos Cantina Style tortilla chips, Twisties, Burger Rings and Cheetos.

For some of the company’s iconic brands, the saturated fat content has been reduced by as much as 86%. PepsiCo Australia is committed to reducing the added sugars, saturated fat and sodium in PepsiCo’s products for Aussie consumers.

PepsiCo ANZ CEO, Danny Celoni said it was a proud milestone for the company.

“Smith’s chips made the shift to Australian canola oil in 2018, and we are proud to have now rolled out this change to more of our great snack brands like Doritos and Twisties,” Mr Celoni said.

“We know that consumer needs and preferences are changing, and Australians are more concerned about their health and wellness than ever before.

“The switch to cooking in Australian canola oil for our major snack brands means more than 90% of our local snack portfolio meets our global PepsiCo 2025 goal to reduce saturated fat in our products to no more than 1.1 grams per 100 calories.

“We have been making changes to our portfolio, products and packaging to ensure we can meet our consumers’ needs. We are committed to reformulating our products without compromising on the great taste our consumers love.

“The team has been working to reduce the added sugars, saturated fat and sodium in our food and beverages. We seek to provide consumers with more product offerings, and clear ingredient labelling information. We remain committed to meet the highest standards for food quality and safety.”

PepsiCo Australia is also in the process of rolling out the voluntary Health Star Rating on front of pack packaging. Health Star Ratings will be on 67% of PepsiCo’s Australian snack products by the end of 2019, on track to meet government guidelines of 70% by 2023.

Mr Celoni said the change to Australian canola oil is also a significant investment in Australian agriculture.

“The switch to Australian canola oil is also great news for Aussie farmers. We will be sourcing approximately 14,000 tonnes of canola oil produced on farms in New South Wales and Victoria.

“We’re committed to supporting local agriculture. We’re proud that 80% of the produce we use, including the potatoes that go into our iconic Smith’s chips, are grown right here in Australia. PepsiCo ANZ spends more than $120 million annually on Australian produce and we want to ensure we’re able to continue to grow local, manufacture local and employ local people into the future.”

Products cooked in Australian canola oil are available now in major retailers.