The Nutella maker defends its use of palm oils. They claim it is the perfect ingredient for the guaranteed special spreadability. Palm oil is considered royalty among vegetable because it makes food easy to spread. It is commonly used as vegetable oil, shortening or margarine additive. It is consumed worldwide, including baked goods, convenience food and candy.
Above all palm oil could avoid the hydrogenation process that would produce otherwise unhealthy trans fats, this is according to the Nuttela website. Nutella maker, Ferrero, launched an ad campaign as a response to a ruling in May from the European Food Safety Authority that palm oil is a potential health concern when improperly processed. Last year the safety authority delivered a scientific opinion that says there are certain levels of glycerol-based process contaminants found in palm oil are a potential health concern.
Using animals to study the contaminants was identified. Contaminants are formed when vegetable oils are heated to high temperatures and then refined. They found as both genotoxic that could damage genes and carcinogenic that could cause cancer. Among all vegetable oil they found the highest level of contaminants in palm oil.
At a very high level exposure authorities concluded it would be a health hazard, especially to infants, toddlers, and children under 10. Doug Boucher, an ecologist and scientific adviser for the Union of Concerned Scientists said importantly, that the EFSA statement was based on the existence of contaminants in palm oil and not the properties of palm oil itself. This point is not lost on Ferrero.
According to CNN, Ferrero's October ad explains that the palm oil they use is heated only in safe temperatures. This means that the heat they use will not result on producing contaminants. Beth M. Kotran, general counsel for Ferrero U.S.A. Inc., wrote in an email that Ferrero would like to assure their consumers that Nuttella as well as other Ferrero products are safe for consumption.
According to the BBC, palm oils have been controversial for a long time because of the result of how it is produced. Producing palm oils caused catastrophic deforestation and ruined animal habitats. However, at the moment it is not thought that selling Nutella in UK will be stopped. Nutella maker ensures the safety of its consumers.
