Other conspiracy theorists speculate about the links between producers of snack foods and soft drinks—crisp manufacturer walkers, for example, is a division of PepsiCo which produces Pepsi Cola. Salty foods lead to thirsty children, which in turn leads to increased sales of soft drinks, they suggest. Steve Chandler of the Snack, Nut and Crisp Manufacturers’ Association, which represents companies such as Walkers, KP (makers of Hula Hoops) and Golden Wonder, yesterday dismissed such theories as “total nonsense” and claimed that in the past 10 years, the industry had worked hard to reduce salt levels, which escalated in the late 1970s and 80s with a massive increase in the number and variety of snack products on the market. “We’ve managed to pull it back to the tune of 25% over the past 10 years,” he says. “We do listen to what the expert advice is. We do listen to what consumers say. We put a lot of time and effort into trying to improve the nutritional aspects of our products.”