Palm Oil
Palm oil is used as a “functional oil” in several applications. It is used because it is solid at room temperature. It is solid largely because of the amount of saturated fat. It is a component of the chocolate and peanut butter chips and coatings. With other oils, with higher melting points, the chips and coating melt at lower temperatures, and as such are impossible to ship. In the past, people used hydrogenated fats to produce a solid material that could be used in baking and other applications. However, the hydrogenation process also generated trans fats. Plant based saturated fats such as palm are the best alternatives. At the present time there are few other good alternatives. As such, in some applications we have no choice but to use palm oil. So it is our policy to continue to use palm oil where necessary, but only if that oil is harvested sustainably. Our suppliers have given us a statement that this is the case, and we will continue to require them to use palm oil that is harvested in this way. As other healthy alternatives come on-line we will shift to those.
