Efforts to create synthetic replacements for palm oil are likely to require ‘several years’ of development before they are commercially viable, meaning emphasis should be placed in the ‘immediate’ drive to make existing production more sustainable.
Big food companies are lagging on their commitments to eliminate the environmental damage being caused by the palm oil supply chain, according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Bunge Loders Croklaan is expanding into the vegetarian burger category with a range of plant-based offerings – made from shea and palm fat – to help bring texture, bite, appearance, and flavour closer to the ‘real thing’.
We should bear in mind that palm oil in and of itself is not harmful, according to research that suggests there may be a carbon-friendly alternative to deforestation.
FMCG giants Nestlé and Mondelēz have responded to the environmental watchdog’s report that claims they purchased palm oil from producers linked to Indonesia’s fire crisis.
The likes of Mondelēz, Nestlé and Unilever have joined a new scheme aiming to improve deforestation transparency. Just as well, as palm oil may be next to witness ‘the Attenborough effect’.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has laid out the first draft of its rules covering Shared Responsibility, and one of the major proposals is to make it mandatory for its members to increase their purchase of sustainable oil by 15% each year.
The Rainforest Alliance Network (RAN) has published a report alleging a raft of FMCG giants and secondary traders continue to use palm oil grown illegally in the Aceh region of Indonesia, in contravention of their own deforestation policies.
Indonesia’s recent banning of products carrying ‘Palm Oil Free’ labels has received a positive response from the local industry, while MNCs Nestle and PepsiCo have reiterated their commitment to use of RSPO-certified palm oil.
Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands are the latest countries to adopt the International Palm Oil Free Certification Trademark (POFCAP), bringing the number of countries using the label to 20.
The Honduran palm oil industry and government have committed to a deforestation-free palm oil supply chain that NGO Solidaridad has called "very positive".
Food brands are profiting from ‘free-from’ fake news, claims an Italian consumer rights organisation, after its study found ‘palm oil free’ products were higher in saturates and less sustainable than their palm oil counterparts.
The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) argues palm oil boycotts pave the way for unsustainable alternatives, but Greenpeace says that if the palm industry operates as usual, brands are left with little choice.
Palm oil brings limited economic benefits to remote areas – study
Unsustainably sourced palm oil deserves its bad name, and requires industry action. Should we eliminate all palm oil from the food supply chain? How can we change consumer perceptions of the commodity when responsibly produced? Nestlé, RSPO, CDP and S4RB...
Researchers calculate that 15% of carbon emissions associated with the typical European diet can be traced back to deforestation in tropical and subtropical countries.
The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is working to bring sustainable palm oil into the “mainstream”. And while notable progress has been made – in terms of both awareness and uptake of the certification scheme – RSPO CEO Datuk Darrel Webber...
The Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV has launched two research projects focused on lowering the level of saturated fatty acids in foods by 30% without using chemical additives and replacing palm oil with healthier alternatives.
Spreads brand Lätta, owned by Upfield, has come under fire for its palm oil content after being named “Årets matbluff” – meaning “food bluff of the year” – by Swedish consumer association Äkta Vara.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) says it is ‘not surprised’ by findings that just 5% of consumers in the UK recognise its logo, noting that as a voluntary label, “not all companies want to draw attention to an ingredient that is one of many”....
RSPO Annual Roundtable Conference on Sustainable Palm Oil (RT16)
A complete overhaul at redesigning effective supply chains and consumer engagement approaches is the key to transforming the entire palm oil industry, said a sustainability expert to Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) members.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has just introduced stronger safeguards to ensure certified palm oil is not causing deforestation or human rights abuses, but is it too little too late?
The environmental watchdog is calling on Mondelēz to sever ties with Wilmar International – one of the world’s biggest agribusinesses – by staging a protest outside the snack maker’s corporate headquarters yesterday.
The 15th annual general assembly of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) closed today, with over 850 representatives of the global palm oil and food industry agreeing to new certification standards for sustainable palm oil.
Nestlé announced it closed its joint venture with the Indofood Group last month, while PepsiCo reiterated its stance to not source palm oil – either directly or indirectly – from the company and its subsidiaries, purportedly linked to deforestation and...
Palm oil sustainability practices in Indonesia are slowly reaping rewards, while manufacturers which make unjustified ‘no palm oil’ label claims are merely cashing in on ‘fabricated hysteria’, claims a senior exec at Golden Agri-Resources (GAR).
Mars and Cargill are two of the big names backing a new alliance to drive collaboration and promote sustainability around palm oil in China – one of the world’s biggest importers of the product.
Researchers in Malaysia induced Alzheimer’s Disease in mice and supplemented palm-derived tocotrienol, a type of vitamin E. They found a link between the vitamin and improvements in brain function.
Companies' unilateral, no-deforestation commitments - and on-pack deforestation-free claims - are unsuited to the complex palm oil supply chain and, therefore, likely to fail, say researchers. "A broader suite of complementary mechanisms"...
Unilever has become the first consumer goods company to publicly disclose all the suppliers and mills it buys palm oil from, both directly and indirectly, it says.
Ingredients suppliers IOI Loders Croklaan and Kerry Group have partnered with Wild Asia and the Fortuna Palm Oil Mill in Sabah to implement a three-year small growers support program.
Nestlé has said it will phase out palm oil purchased from Guatemalan company Reforestadora de Palmas AC (REPSA), which has been linked to corruption charges in a high-profile investigation of systemic tax fraud in Guatemala.
The Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG) has launched a charter for traders and processors of sustainable palm oil that will "break the link between palm oil production and the destruction of forests and peatlands".
Identifying the geographical origin of palm oil is now quicker and more accurate thanks to a method developed by Spanish researchers, who claim it could help fight palm oil fraudulently labelled as certified sustainable.
FrieslandCampina Kievit (FCK) has become the latest food supplier to switch to sustainable palm oil in its range of whipping agents to add aeration to desserts, mousses, ice cream and pastries.
Danish supplier Palsgaard has launched a soy-based emulsifier for cakes to meet growing European demand for palm-free foods. But certified sustainable palm oil is still the most environmentally-friendly oil crop, it says.
BASF have become the latest member of the Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil (FONAP), joining the initiative as a “Supporter” of sustainably produced palm oil for the German, Austrian and Swiss markets.
There's "a gold rush mentality" in the palm oil sector preventing it from becoming truly sustainable, says Danish NGO NepCon. But its database Sourcing Hub can help manufacturers make the most sustainable possible choices when buying palm...
A new certification programme, the International Palm Oil Free Certification Accreditation Programme (POFCAP), has been developed to enable food makers to demonstrate that their products were manufactured without the use of palm oil.
PepsiCo’s efforts to provide further transparency in the palm oil supply chain have been slammed as “masterful window dressing”, in a strongly worded statement by the Rainforest Action Network.
Unilever has suspended buying palm oil from Sawit Sumbermas Sarana (SSMS), after concluding the supplier had been in breach of its no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation policies.
Farming practices used to grow agricultural products such as bananas, sugar, palm oil and soybeans must adopt a more sustainable approach in order to halt the loss of biodiversity, a report warns.
With a recent European resolution calling for tariffs and trade barriers against any palm oil linked to deforestation, Malaysia's minister for plantations and commodities warns: "We will react and respond accordingly to any discriminatory measures...
