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.
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 global supplier built a fiscal and civic support program in South Sumatra, Indonesia, to nurture women in leadership roles – an important part of its 2020 palm oil transparency commitment.
UK researchers have found that – in addition to being healthier – low fat/sugar biscuits have the lowest environmental impact, while chocolate-coated biscuits are the least sustainable.
The US-based producer of plant-based edible oils and fats has launched Whole Harvest ColdChurn Culinary Crème that it says will add a buttery taste and texture to foods.
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.
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...
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.
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...
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.
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...
A new variety of oil palm developed using traditional plant breeding techniques will increase crude palm oil yields by up to double current levels, says SMART Tbk, a subsidiary of Golden-Agri Resources (GAR).
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has issued its first RSPO Next certification, a stricter voluntary add-on, to Colombian-based agribusiness Daabon Group.
Orkla Confectionery & Snacks Sweden has removed palm oil from 98% of its products, meaning 1,500 fewer tons of saturated fat in consumers' food. But what were the technical challenges and how was it received by fellow members of the Roundtable...
Food manufacturers are struggling to tackle deforestation because of failures by governments both at home and overseas, according to candid interviews with a number of high-profile firms.
Today the European Parliament voted to implement tough new palm oil resolutions, which if enforced would see its elimination from use in biofuels and enforce stricter regulations on production and certification throughout the continent.
Nestlé says it is "very concerned" by allegations that its palm oil supplier Wilmar International has again been implicated in sourcing palm oil from the protected Leuser ecosystem in Indonesia, according to a report by the Rainforest Action...
FoodNavigator approached industry and campaigners for their reflections on the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)'s 2016 Impact Report. What are the challenges and opportunities in the next 12 months?
Dinant, which produces snacks, cooking oils, processed foods, fruits and vegetables, for Central America, the Dominican Republic and other global exports, has built a biogas plant using waste from the African Palm fruit.
Back in 2014 I interviewed Hans Jöhr, who at the time was corporate head of agriculture at Nestlé. We had a (refreshingly) open discussion about certification schemes. Some of them are “cheating consumers” and “cannot help farmers be better farmers per...
Amnesty International has uncovered “systemic” cases of child labour and labour rights abuses in Indonesian palm oil plantations operated by Wilmar, tracing the palm oil back to firms including Nestlé, Unilever and Kellogg – companies that all claim to...
'Let me be frank: No other broad certification scheme for a sustainable agricultural crop goes as far as RSPO for palm oil.'
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is battling a number of issues, from its own members adding 'palm oil-free labels' on product packaging to calls at an EU level to strengthen its certification criteria. But according to United Plantations...
At a time when the conversation around palm oil centres on deforestation, fires and habitat loss – and global demand shows no signs of abating – several companies have come together to create Palm Done Right, a new standard for ethical palm oil production....
Greenpeace's damning report on Malaysian palm oil supplier IOI, just one month after its membership of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was renewed, could be damaging for the certifier, according to one sustainability consultant.
Greenpeace activists are blocking palm oil imports from Malaysian trader IOI at Rotterdam harbour in protest at the firm's involvement in forest destruction, peatland fires and use of child labour.
Palm oil that is harvested at the right moment, pressed quickly and processed at appropriate temperatures contains insignificant levels of contaminants - if any, says the Italian Union for Sustainable Palm Oil. "This should be the standard for quality...
Rice, soy, corn, wheat and palm oil are the “new frontier” of climate action, said Oxfam this week, as it published new data detailing the “massive” environmental impact of the world’s major commodities.
French politicians have dropped the proposed palm oil tax, leading some politicians to say the country is being blackmailed by producer countries. "We are legislating with a knife at our throats," said one.
After finding that 12 kids' food products from Nestlé, Barilla, Ferrero and Danone contain high levels of carcinogen 3-MCPD, Italian consumer group Altroconsumo is calling on parents to stop giving products that contain palm oil to children.
Vegetable oil, processed food, infant formula and cancer: All the ingredients for a consumer food scare over the carcinogenic contaminant 3-MCPD are there - so why hasn't there been one yet?
Almost one fifth of young children exceed the tolerable daily intake for potential carcinogen 3-MCPD, says the Dutch food safety authority, as EFSA prepares to release an assessment on the compound next week.
The Norwegian national investment fund has cut ties with four major Asian companies, citing the risk of ‘severe environmental damage’ as a result of palm oil plantations.
Allied Bakers, the maker of Kingsmill bread, said today that the palm oil and derivatives used in its products are now 100% sustainably sourced through physical supply chains.
Changes to European labelling laws meaning the specific source of vegetable oil must be declared on pack could drive more food manufacturers to certified sustainable palm oil, according to one grower.
By Gary Paoli, director of research and project development at Daemeter Consulting
Having completed a review of RSPO, Gary Paoli of Daemeter Consulting outlines how the sustainable palm oil certifier has fared in addressing key market demands.
Sustainable palm oil trader GreenPalm will use this year’s European Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Summit as a platform to urge key players in the EU palm oil industry to galvanise shared knowledge and promote sustainable sourcing.
The Kellogg Company has pledged to source fully traceable palm oil by the end of next year, a move that has been welcomed by NGOs that have been fighting for the cereal giant to change its policies for months.
Mondelez International reached its 2015 goal of sourcing 100% RSPO-certified palm oil for all its purchases last year – two years ahead of schedule, the company has said.
There will be pressure from some corners to give the food industry several years to phase out partially hydrogenated oils, but from a technical perspective, viable alternatives are already out there for pretty much every application, according to one...
Do consumers vote with their feet when it comes to palm oil? Probably not — or at least that seems to be the case in emerging markets, where the lion’s share of palm oil is processed and consumed.