Deborah Gough
May 21, 2013
The Age
It’s everywhere – in your bathroom, your pantry – and if you use make-up, it’s probably on your face as well.
According to a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund and the Food and Grocery Council of Australia, Australians consume an average of about six kilograms of palm oil a year, in products as diverse as bread, shampoo and cosmetics.
Consumer group Choice says palm oil is ecologically damaging, very high in saturated fats and should be specifically labelled so shoppers can choose to avoid it.
Choice said about 50 per cent of packaged products on supermarket shelves contain palm oil, yet Food Standards Australia and New Zealand allowed it to be labelled as vegetable oil.
It said palm oil was widespread and found in potato chips, shampoo, muesli bars and many other products, but shoppers could not tell by looking at the labels.
Choice claims palm oil is the most-eaten oil in the world, accounting for 33 per cent of total oil production in 2009. It is cheap, versatile, grows quickly and keeps products on the shelf for longer. Australia imports 130,000 tonnes of palm oil a year.
Only 14 per cent of palm oil produced is sustainable, Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey says, resulting in deforestation and catastrophic environmental damage. Palm oil production has been linked to the destruction of orangutan habitats.
Mr Godfrey said its saturated fat content was 51 per cent, which was much higher than other vegetable oils, such as canola, sunflower and olive oil.
“For a product with such high levels of saturated fat, we think it is important to clearly and specifically label, rather than leave it up to the consumer to decipher fat levels on the nutritional panel,†Mr Godfrey said.
It named Arnott’s, Coca-Cola (SPC Ardmona), Goodman Fielder and Nestle, as all using palm oil but labelling it as vegetable oil.
It said Aldi’s private-label goods called palm oil “vegetable oil”, but Coles’ and Woolworths’ labelled goods both specifically identified it.
It also criticised the use of palm oil in products for children. Choice highlighted Woolworths’ recent release of organic Mini Macro products sold in its health-food aisles, that contained palm oil. It said Woolworths claimed palm oil “tastes better” and is more widely available than organic oils. Choice also said Aldi used palm oil in products for children, including potato chips, which it recommended as a part of its balanced lunch box campaign.
In a statement, the Australian Food and Grocery Council said it supported sustainable sourcing of palm oil by 2015, but rejected calls for mandatory labelling.
“Calls for mandatory labelling of palm oil in food and grocery products is an ad-hoc response, at best, to the significantly larger issue of deforestation and, will unlikely address these issues,” it said.
It said Australia accounted for about 0.2 per cent of global palm oil demand.
“A requirement to label palm oil in Australia would add cost, with no evidence that it brings any benefit – either in reducing deforestation in Indonesia or Malaysia, or saving one orangutan or tiger,” the statement said.
On the issue of identifying palm oil in vegetable oil, the statement said it would be confusing to identify it when it made no nutritional difference.
The council this month released a report with the World Wildlife Fund calling for companies to join the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and for them to develop action plans for sustainable palm oil.
The report stated that palm oil was a competitively priced product that was flexible, had limited processing and a greater yield per hectare than other vegetable oils.
It called for further research on palm oil’s flow into Australia and to explore sustainable palm oil projects in the region.
What fat is that?
Choice tips for identifying palm oil:
Check the nutritional panel for the proportions of saturated to unsaturated fats.
Note high saturated fat content where vegetable oil is listed means the product probably contains palm oil.
Be aware that when buying processed products there is a chance it may contain palm oil.
If you have doubts about “vegetable oil” labelling, contact the manufacturer.
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