Iceland to be first UK supermarket to cut palm oil from own-brand products

Iceland is to become the first major UK supermarket to pledge to remove palm oil from all its own-brand foods, in a bid to halt the ongoing destruction of tropical rainforests in south-east Asia.

 Palm oil is found in more than half of all supermarket products.

The frozen food specialist will reveal on Tuesday that the controversial ingredient has already been taken out half of its own-label range, with the rest being reformulated by the end of 2018.

Palm oil – a cheap and mass-produced ingredient renowned for its versatility – is currently found in more than half of all supermarket products, from bread, pastry, biscuits, cereal and chocolate to soap and detergent.

But the complex supply chain means only a small percentage of the palm oil used to make these products comes from an officially approved sustainable source.

Read the story by Rebecca Smithers from The Guardian - “Iceland to be first UK supermarket to cut palm oil from own-brand products.”

Shiny packaging covers corporate sins of palm oil

P

alm oil is a much sought after product, so much so that frequently we disregard human and environmental costs.

Easter sees a continuation of how the corporate ills of the world are hidden beneath some shiny packaging, with many of the traditional chocolate Easter eggs being made use palm oil.

Dense and climate sustaining forests are often cleared to allow for palm oil farming and frequently child labour is exploited to ensure production costs are kept as low as possible and, of course, corporate profits at the maximum.

In its story - “Child labour and palm oil lend chocolate Easter eggs a bitter taste” – the Sydney Morning Herald says that a growing number of ethical consumers are looking beyond the shiny packaging to buy chocolate made without the use of child, forced or trafficked labour, and palm oil, an ingredient linked with deforestation, animal cruelty and climate change.