No palm oil? No problem! Introducing 3 palm oil free products you must try if you care about the environment and wildlife!
If you’re a conscious shopper, you may already know about palm oil products and their potential harm to the environment and our health.
It is becoming apparent that customers are interested in the number one oil displayed on a long list of food and cosmetic products, found in almost every kitchen and bathroom across the UK. If you want to learn more about palm oil and find out which products (you may have in your household) contain palm oil and which do not, this article may dot the i’s and cross the t’s.
Why palm oil is the world’s #1 oil?
Palm oil is a vegetable oil that originates from the fruits of oil palm trees. You may have no idea that palm oil is used in almost every second food and cosmetic product that we use daily. Just to name a few products that contain palm oil:
Almost 50% of packed products, such as pizza’s or biscuits
Chocolate
Protein or diet bars
Peanut butter
Crisps
Margarine
Most toiletries, such as shampoo, toothpaste, or soap
Most make-up products
It’s even used as a biofuel in many parts of the world, except the UK!
THE LIST IS ENDLESS!
Palm oil is so popular among such diverse industries because of its very exceptional texture. It is extremely adaptable to many diverse conditions:
It can stay solid at room temperature: Meaning, it’s very commonly used in spreads because it keeps them spreadable.
Oxidation has no effect on palm oil: Therefore, it helps to extend the product's expiry date.
It is resistant to high temperatures, so can keep such highly processed foods as fries or chips crispy.
It does not have an unpleasant smell or colour.
Just to give you an idea of the exact product that contains or does not contain palm oil, the JollyGut team has scanned a few products across major UK stores that are listed below.
So what is the problem with such a functional ingredient that serves so many industries and keeps our fridges filled with heavenly-looking foods?
The future of our planet OR a full stomach?
The main issue in frequent palm oil usage is the way it has been produced. In recent years this oil industry has been one of the main drivers of dreadful environmental and climate changes in the world.
Palm oil production is responsible for:
Massive deforestation - Palm oil tree plants take up so much space that the most biodiverse forests of the world are cut down to prepare areas for their growth.
With massive deforestation of biodiverse forests comes the death of most exotic animal species that are close to extinction, such as Orangutans, Sumatran Rhino, and Pygmy Elephants.
In addition, the reduced number of trees results in significant climate changes. Have you heard of the saying “the trees are the lungs of the planet”?
Peat soils that are used for the palm oil trees' growth are releasing millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases.
Beware! Palm oil might be hiding under a different name
As a conscious and responsible customer, you might decide to reduce the consumption of products that contain palm oil. That is an applaudable decision, but if you believe that checking the ingredients list of every food product you pick up at a store will make a difference, that might not be the case.
What’s even more shocking is that many companies hide the ingredient ‘palm oil’ under different names, meaning consumers are unaware of this hidden ingredient.
The source: https://naturaler.co.uk/where-to-buy-palm-oil-free-products-uk/ If you’re determined to reduce your palm oil consumption simply download the JollyGut food scanning app, this will help you to save time instead of looking for an endless list of palm oil names.
Sustainable and conscious food shopping shouldn’t take hours. The desire to prevent frightful changes in our environment should not be an unbearable struggle, right?
With this mindset, JollyGut has developed an app that helps to spot which products contain palm oil and which ones are palm oil free within seconds.
All you need to do is simply:
Scan a chosen product in-store or enter it into a search engine using the JollyGut food scanner.
If you are in store, scan it with the JollyGut food scanner:
Get warned if the product contains palm oil:
Click the tab ‘for experts’ and explore the nutritional profile of your chosen food product:
With the JollyGut food scanner app, you don’t need to analyse complex ingredient lists wondering whether the chosen product contains palm oil or not - just check the product with the app or Browser extension and it will warn you if the chosen product meets your dietary preferences!