UK retailer Iceland is the first major supermarket to remove palm oil from their own brand products. Figures from Iceland show that 35 per cent of consumers are unaware of what palm oil is, and once people were informed about the environmental effects, 85 per cent of people believe that palm oil shouldn’t be used in food products. The decision to remove palm oil from their products is an ethical one, and Iceland deserve recognition for taking steps to reduce the need for palm oil and hopefully encourage other supermarkets to rethink the non-essential use of palm oil in their products.
Richard Walker, Managing Director of Iceland, said: “Until Iceland can guarantee palm oil is not causing rainforest destruction, we are simply saying ‘no to palm oil’. We don’t believe there is such a thing as guaranteed ‘sustainable’ palm oil available in the mass market, so we are giving consumers a choice to say no to palm for the first time. Having recently been to Indonesia and seen the environmental devastation caused by expanding palm oil production first hand, I feel passionately about the importance of raising awareness of this issue – and I know many British consumers share my concern and want to have a real choice about what they buy. This journey has shown me that, currently, no major supermarket or food manufacturer can substantiate any claim that the palm oil they use is truly sustainable, as the damage being caused to the global environmental and communities in South East Asia is just too extensive.”