Palm Oil & Food Labels

Last week on television there was an investigative documentary about the Palm Oil industry and the fact that it is destroying Indonesian Rain Forest and killing the Orang-utans As Palm Oil is the most frequently used vegetable oil in foods and cosmetics therefore it is virtually impossible to avoid. But with less than two percent from sustainable plantations, it is impossible to use your spending power to send signals to the major manufacturers.

Additionally even if you are a inveterate label reader like me, you can not tell what products actually contain Palm Oil as the label will only say Vegetable Oil. There are technical reasons why this happens, as often it is a blend of oils, thus if the percentage was marked it would require reprinting labels every three or four weeks. However, manufacturers know that Palm Oil is contentious and environmentally damaging but they still use it as it is the cheapest vegetable oil in the market.

The point is that the labels fail to contain any information that would inform the consumer. If it were something that the consumer would approve of, they would make sure there labels showed this.

Additionally, last year there was another television programme that highlighted that most of the chocolate made in Britain contains Palm Oil. Further while organisation that are supposed to be supporting conservation to protect the Orang-utans rain forest habitat by certifying the Coca production from sustainable sources, they endorse products that are made from Palm Oil that is destroying the very rain forest that they are supposed to be protecting. I personally can not name the products, as I am being threatened with legal action if I do. Well this Wood Mouse is not intimidated by big business bullying.

Thus, labels on food often show only what the manufacturer or retails want to show. Even with the legal requirements the manufacturers, processors and major retailers will often be economical with the truth. This has been most frequently been the case with meat especially pork that is imported and just from the process of cutting it up, are calling in British.

The real problem is that we the consumer can not make informed choices. Manufacturers and Retailers always claim that they have to look after their shareholders and their customers. I that order. Well deliberately misleading labels damage your shareholders interests and does not help the customer.