Palm oil has been controversial for several months due to its production process and its fat content, so it has not caught us by surprise to read that some of the large supermarket chains plan to withdraw this product from their shelves. The growing concern of consumers towards palm oil is the driving factor of this change.
Two of the companies most determined to eliminate palm oil from their own brand are Alcampo and Simply, from the Auchan group, which are already studying possible alternatives to the use of this product with their suppliers. However, other distribution chains such as Dia, Eroski, Lidl or Mercadona are also concerned about the issue and work in the same direction.
In which products does palm oil appear?
The task is not going to be simple because, at present, palm oil is the most used in the world, ahead of soy or rapeseed, in the production of a large number of products from the food industry : creams, coverages, snacks, pre-cooked dishes, spreads, pastries and snacks, among others. It is also used for the manufacture of cleaning products, cosmetics and candles.
It is an oil rich in saturated fats that is far from being a good alternative from the nutritional point of view, which should not be abused. Manufacturers are obliged to indicate their presence on the label and this should make it easier for the consumer to decide whether or not to consume the products that carry it, but, let’s face it, we do not always have time to look at the labels when we go to the supermarket.
How much palm oil do we consume per day?
Unfortunately (for whatever reason), our buying habits cause us to end up filling the pantry with less healthy products than we imagined. Our concern as consumers has led us to do an exercise with palm oil in the spotlight and we have been surprised to see how much palm oil we consume per day without knowing it.
We start the morning with a breakfast based on natural fruit juice, coffee or tea and a bowl of cereal with milk. We believe it is a healthy and healthy alternative, but at this start of the day we are already getting into the body a certain amount of palm oil without knowing it.
Those of us who do not conceive mid-morning without a second cup of coffee, may fall into the temptation of accompanying it with a biscuit, a sobao or a piece of sponge cake (industrial, of course). And at the time of the aperitif, how are we not going to open that bag of chips!
To eat, as we did not have time to cook, we threw a pantry and found a vegetable cream that solves the first course and second we prepared a grilled chicken breast with salad garnish. We finish the job with a whim in the form of tiramisu or similar. Total, a day is a day.
The time of the snack is sacred in those houses where there are children (well, in some others too) who, between transfers from the school to the sports center or to the cultural center where they do the extracurricular activities, they will enjoy a delicious cream sadnwich cocoa and hazelnuts. They eat it without protesting, little angels.
Finally we come to dinner and we are so exhausted that the best thing that comes to mind is to light the oven and put a pizza . we accompany it with a salad, because the green helps to see everything better, healthier, even if the children do not eat it as well as the sandwich of the snack. But it’s not all going to be goodies, is it?
This can be a normal day in the life of any of us, with many of the foods consumed along their route made with palm oil : breakfast cereals, biscuit or mid morning bun, appetizer chips , the cream of vegetables and the tiramisu of the food, the cream of cocoa and hazelnuts of the sandwich of the snack and the pizza of the dinner.
How can we limit the consumption of palm oil
With this in perspective, we can only rejoice when we read news like the one that opens this article about the withdrawal of palm oil from the white label products of many supermarkets . What’s more, we’re looking forward to it becoming a reality. Maybe your example makes other food companies get in the car for the good of the consumers.
Meanwhile, it is up to us to limit the consumption of palm oil and avoid the excess of saturated fats that it contributes. We can achieve it with three simple gestures :
- Cook at home using sunflower or olive oil .
- Stay away from pre-cooked foods, industrial bakery and other processed products.
- Read the labels and choose products free of this oil.
Do you dare to apply them?
About2ZF77
