Popular South African potato crisps maker Simba is taking steps to reduce the levels of cancer-causing chemicals in its products. 

This comes after their sister company in the United States, Frito Lay, owned by PepsiCo Inc, agreed to reduce the levels of carcinogens in their crisps under a settlement announced by the Los Angeles state attorney general’s office last week.

Simba CEO Lauren Siebrits said while there were many studies under way to determine how acrylamide – formed by cooking certain foods at high temperatures – might affect human health, they were being ‘very cautious’ and had taken prudent steps to reduce the levels in products here.

PepsiCo’s commitment to addressing acrylamide and developing ways to reduce levels in its products is consistent with the company’s record of leadership in the health and wellness arena.

“Similar to the removal of trans-fats from snack chips and in a global effort to lower saturated fat and sodium levels, taking steps to reduce acrylamide is one more way to ensure PepsiCo products are the safest for consumers. In South Africa, we have already launched a range of better-for-you products such as the Sunbites range, which includes pretzels and Air Pops as well as Baked Simba, which are baked and have no trans-fats, no added MSG, no tartrazine and no artificial colourants,” said Siebrits.

In 2005 the United States government also sued McDonalds, Wendy’s International Inc, Burger King and KFC over acrylamide levels. Those lawsuits were settled after companies agreed to either properly label their products or lower levels of the chemical.