Nestle can no longer claim to use certified
In 2010, Nestlé gave itself ten years to switch to 100% deforestation-free palm oil. Today, the food giant still cannot document the source of almost a third of the palm oil it uses. In 2019, Nestlé recorded over 1,000 cases of deforestation daily.
We use palm oil as an ingredient in a number of Nestlé products.
What is the problem with palm oil? Palm oil has been and continues to be a major driver of deforestation of some of the world's most biodiverse forests, destroying the habitat of already endangered species like the Orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino.
Palm oil is a key ingredient used in manufacturing Kit Kat bars.
The palm oil in Nutella® is carefully treated during processing, making it perfectly safe to ingest. The palm oil we use in Nutella® is 100% RSPO certified sustainable palm oil and can be traced back to the mills, guaranteeing that it does not come from plantations subject to deforestation.
It's less saturated than butter and contains no trans fat. But just because it's not as bad as trans fat doesn't make it a health food. According to Harvard nutrition experts, palm oil is clearly better than high–trans fat shortenings and probably a better choice than butter.
Canola and sunflower seed oil
One of the most popular replacements for palm are canola and sunflower seed oils. However, while they don't have the same environmental impact in terms of deforestation, these crops still require a lot of land and water to produce. And they take longer to grow.
Unlike palm oil's environmentally damaging production methods, palm sugar is a greener palm product produced using sustainable methods and minimal processing. Palm trees are maintained to produce the sap, rather than being cut down; depending on the variety, palm trees will produce sap anywhere from 10 to 100 years.
For this reason, palm oil produced for McDonald's5 must be certified by the RSPO, which sets out strict criteria to minimize negative impacts to the environment and to communities in palm oil producing regions. In 2021, 100% of our palm oil globally was certified by the RSPO.
Palm oil is used as an ingredient in some of our products but the oil we use in our restaurants for frying is a blend of non-hydrogenated rapeseed and sunflower oil.
You can be assured that the palm oil we use in Cadbury products is certified as sustainable.
It's used to pre-cook the noodles so that all you have to do is add hot water. All varieties of maggie noodles contain palm oil, which is a key ingredient in the tastemaker.
What do Nutella, Hershey's Chocolate, Coca-Cola and Kellogg's cereal all have in common? All of these brands use palm oil as a key ingredient when making their products. Palm oil is the world's most demanded vegetable oil, making palm oil extraction an environmental crisis.
12 global companies sourced from at least 20 of the dirty palm oil suppliers. The 12 companies are Colgate-Palmolive, L'Oreal, Hershey, Kellogg's, Kraft, Mars, Mondelez, General Mills, Heinz, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever.
Palm oil is a great source of vitamin E. Palm oil is rich in antioxidants, one of which is vitamin E. This vitamin is critical for keeping your immune system healthy and for helping your cells communicate.
Red palm oil induces its antidiabetic effect through the antioxidant effect of carotenoids, phosphatides, sterols, tocopherols vitamin E, ascorbic and trace metals constituent of the oil and these are effective against oxidative stress in in vitro and in vivo studies and also possess anti-inflammatory effect12.
Looking at other nutrients beyond just healthy fats, both palm oil and olive oil contain vitamin E. Olive oil also contains other nutritional compounds, such as other vitamins, polyphenols, antioxidants and more. Thus, olive oil offers more nutritional benefits overall than palm oil does.
Asia is by far the largest and fastest-growing consumer of palm oil, responsible for two thirds of global consumption. The three largest consuming nations are Indonesia, India and China which between them account for 45 per cent of global demand.
It's cheap and efficient making it the world's most widely used vegetable oil – and global consumption is rising. Palm oil is used in the production of foods such as cake, chocolate, biscuits, margarine and frying fats. It is also found in cosmetics, soap, shampoo, cleaning products and can be used as a biofuel.
On the other hand, sunflower oil is a healthier alternative to palm oil. It is high in monounsaturated fat, which can help reduce the risk of heart disease. Sunflower oil also has a high smoke point, making it suitable for high-heat cooking.
Palm oil is more resistant to oxidation and has a higher smoking point than extra virgin olive oil but no higher than plain olive oil.