A European report is claiming that refined palm oil, a key ingredient in Nutella, may significantly increase your risk of cancer.
This is – naturally – worrying, and, in response to this news, some retailers have now boycotted the ingredient, and supermarket shelves across Europe are being stripped of Nutella as we speak.
Concerns have been raised a while now about palm oil and its safety when used in food consumption, with the European Food Standards Authority (EFSA) releasinga report in May last year declaring it to be more carcinogenic than any other oil, followed by similar claims by the WHO.
It is a well-known fact that many processed foods contain palm oil – ice cream, cake mixes, margarine, and packaged bread. Mainly, of course, because it is the cheapest oil around and it greatly extends the shelf-life of a product. Nutella relies on palm oil for both shelf life and its smooth and spreadable texture.
In fact, Nutella is a leading product for Ferrero (the company that produces it) and generates one fifth of its entire sales. And Ferrero uses about 185,000 tons of palm oil a year.
But the maker of the spread, is – after seeing a three percent decline in profit following the report – now fighting back against claims Nutella could cause cancer with a brand spanking new marketing campaign. In fact, the Italian corporation goes to great lengths in reassuring its customers of their decision to keep palm oil in the spread, despite fears.
“Making Nutella without palm oil would produce an inferior substitute for the real product, it would be a step backward,” Ferrero’s purchasing manager Vincenzo Tapella told Reuters.
However, according to the Independent, what he didn’t mention, was that a switch in ingredients would cost Ferrero an extra $8-22 million a years. In fact, swapping palm oil for a healthier – and slightly more costly – alternative like sunflower or rapeseed oil, would increase the cost of the spread to around €20 per jar – meaning no-one would buy it, which would obviously be a problem for Ferrero.
Dr Helle Knutsen, chair of Contam, the EFSA panel that investigated palm oil, stated, “There is sufficient evidence that glycidol is genotoxic and carcinogenic, therefore the Contam panel did not set a safe level for GE.”
Note: It is important to point out that the EFSA did not completely advise people against consuming palm oil and said more research needed to be done in order to reach a full conclusion. The World Health Organization and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization both warned about the possible risks of palm oil, but stopped short of suggesting people stop consuming it.
