Sainsbury’s has announced a ban on all palm oil from unsustainable sources used in its own brand products .
The UK’s third largest supermarket chain will now only accept palm oil from certified sustainable sources and will announce a deadline for the complete phase out of uncertified palm oil in its products by early 2008.
Sainsbury’s said that its Basics Fish Fingers will be the first product to contain certified sustainable palm oil, converting by May 2008, while sustainable palm oil will also be used in soap from July next year – amounting to some three million bars a year.
The grocery retailer also stated it will label the use of palm oil in all its fresh and chilled food by July 2008, providing customers greater transparency over what they are consuming.
The move by the supermarket giant comes just a week after several of the UK’s biggest consumer brands were accused of contributing to the destruction of the rainforest through their use of palm oil sourced from illegal plantations .
Judith Batchelar, director of Sainsbury’s brand, commented: “From soap to biscuits, palm oil is in thousands of everyday food and beauty items wherever you shop .”
“Rather than banning the use of palm oil, we want to find a sustainable solution that will stop deforestation while continuing to support the communities that rely on its production .”
Adam Harrison, senior policy officer for food and agriculture at the WWF, welcomed the Sainsbury’s move “to address the serious impacts of palm oil demand” and urged other companies to “follow suit and commit to using only Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)-certified palm oil” .
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