Ferré & Consulting Blog (English Version)

A call from the Netherlands to end European import duty on sustainably produced palm oil has been welcomed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The proposal is designed to encourage the uptake of sustainable palm oil by offsetting some of the added costs.

The European Union currently charges a 3.8% import duty on crude palm oil. The Dutch Product Board for Margarine, Fats and Oils (MVO) believes that abolishing the EU import duty on sustainable palm oil will remove a significant barrier to its market uptake in Europe.

Typical estimates put the extra cost of farming palm oil sustainably at between $7 and $10 per tonne.

The MVO’s proposal calls for the duty on CSPO imported from Malaysia and Indonesia for use in consumer goods to be abolished. Currently, crude palm oil for use in non-food products and palm oil originating from nearly all other producing countries are exempted from import duties.

Darrel Webber, RSPO secretary general, said: “The Dutch industry initiative once again places the Netherlands, the largest palm oil importer and processor in Europe, at the forefront of spearheading market transformation towards sustainable palm oil. The RSPO commends and supports the MVO’s resolution.”

Rapid growth

The RSPO’s Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) scheme began in 2008 and now covers close to 5m tonnes, or around 10 per cent of global palm oil production.

“The commitment towards 100 per cent CSPO by 2015 on the demand side by many established global organisations — including processors, traders, consumer goods manufacturers and retailers – has been a major driver in getting growers on board,” said Webber.

The uptake of available CSPO has also grown quickly, up to 56% in 2010 from 26% in 2009. But this still means that almost half the CSPO produced last year wasn’t sold through any of the specialist supply options. It entered the global supply chain somewhere in the same way as standard palm oil and didn’t command a premium.

Supply chain

“[The removal of duty] would help in terms of reducing cost but it’s only looking at one step in the supply chain,” said Simon Chrismas, business development executive with the RSPO-endorsed sustainable palm oil product certification scheme, GreenPalm.

GreenPalm is designed to encourage greater support for sustainable production among end-user manufacturers, whatever their supply chain looks like.

Rather than physically segregating the CSPO from standard oil, which would be more expensive, GreenPalm awards sustainability certificates to eligible growers for every tonne of CSPO they produce. They can then sell these certificates on to manufacturers who want to use the GreenPalm logo on their products.

“GreenPalm doesn’t follow the physical flow of the product, but it allows all end manufacturers to support sustainable production. A company may be manufacturing a standard biscuit or soap using standard palm oil and that’s fine,” Chrismas told this publication.

Source: Bakery and Snacks

Ingredients GreenPalm, palm oil

A new logo allows confectionery, biscuit and other food producers show their commitment to sustainable palm oil, which in turn will boost global demand, says the RSPO.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) said its new logo is a’milestone’ in its bid to encourage production and use of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) as it will “serve as an impetus for all members in the CSPO supply chain to step up their efforts.”

RSPO said its brand owner and retailer membership can use the new trademark on packaging as well as in communication about products that contain RSPO backed palm oil-derived ingredients.

The design of the trademark, continued the not-for-profit association, was unveiled in November last year at the 8th Roundtable Meeting of the RSPO in Indonesia but it has taken until now to finalise rules governing the use of the logo as well as a procedure on trademark licence application.

Tanno Massar, a spokesperson for RSPO, said the new logo will have more impact with shoppers than the previous wording alone, citing growing consumer interest in buynig products using CSPO derived ingredients.

Currently, around nine per cent of all palm oil produced in the world is RSPO certified.

Licence fee

The RSPO spokesperson also told this publication that there will be no additional trademark licence fee in the first phase of the application process, which is set to end 1 July 2012. Thereafter, the fee structure would be reviewed, he added.

Use of the RSPO trademark is allowed only if at least 95 per cent of a product’s palm oil derived components are RSPO certified.

There are two different versions of the new logo, said the spokesperson. Products containing palm oil ingredients sourced under the Mass Balance RSPO option must carry the logo as well as the wording ‘mixed’ on all consumer orientated product communication.

India and China

The spokesperson said one of the biggest challenges currently facing the RSPO is helping ensure that the conditions are put in place in India and China – two of the biggest consumer markets for palm oil – for greater take-up of CSPO.

“We hope to achieve this through awareness raising and outreach work with stakeholders such as goverment-backed organisations,” he remarked.

When asked whether the premium pricing structure around CSPO is not a barrier to its wider use in emerging economies, Massar argues that: “Sustainable will not always equal premium, and CSPO will eventually become the norm globally.”

The RSPO rules regarding communication around the logo can be read here .

Source: Confectionery News

Ingredients, packaging logo, palm oil, RSPO

An emulsified blend of palm stearin and palm oil may create a margarine with better functional characteristics for use in hydrogenated-fat free food products, according to a new study.

The research, published in the Journal of Food Science, suggests new insight into the chemical composition and crystallization regime of palm oil and oil-based products produced by blending or emulsification. The authors said that such information is important for defining the uses of such products in food products such as margarine, shortening, and butter.

The profile of palm oil makes it a natural contender to replace hydrogenated fats in solid-fat food formulations – where it has been suggested that the use of palm oil could virtually eliminate trans- fatty acid content.

Palm oils

According to the authors, the ability of palm oil to crystallize has made it an attractive option for the production of trans-fat free margarine.

They added that palm stearin expresses similar crystallization behaviour and is considered one of the best substitutes of hydrogenated oils due to its capability to impart the required level of plasticity and body to the finished product.

However, palm stearin can not be used directly for edible purposes because it exhibits incomplete melting at body temperature, due to the high-melting point of its triacylglycerols. Generally, palm stearin is blended with palm oil to produce a blend with a melting point below body temperature (37 °C).

Previous studies have focused on the thermal behaviour of edible oils and blends of oils and fats. Whilst the crystallization of oils and fats are well documented, the authors noted that there is limited information regarding the mechanisms related to crystallization and emulsification.

Experimental margarine fats, formulated with palm oil and palm stearin in different ratios were subjected to an emulsification process and analysed for total triacylglycerols, solid fat content, and thermal behaviour. In addition, the microstructure properties, including size and number of crystals, were determined for experimental margarine fat and commercial margarine fats.

Study details

The researchers observed that blending and emulsification at palm stearin levels over 40 per cent significantly changed the physicochemical and microstructure properties of experimental margarine fat – as compared to commercial margarine fats.

They reported that the blend resulted in a “desirable” dipalmitoyl-oleoyl-glycerol content of less than 36.1 per cent solid fat content at 37 °C.

“The development of primary crystals within palm oil -based margarine fat was dominated by high-melting triacylglycerols … whilst the addition of a small dose of monoacylglycerol delayed the emergence of undesirable changes in the margarine fats,” said the researchers.

Triacylglycerol composition, solid fat content, thermal behaviour, and microstructure properties of palm oil-based margarine fats were significantly affected by blending and emulsification, said the authors.

However, they noted that incorporation of palm stearin at less than 40 per cent in the presence of a dose of monoacylglycerol as emulsifier expressed complete melting at body temperature, adding that as such the blend should result in “excellent mouth feel.”

In contrast, the addition of palm stearin at more than 40 per cent caused a grainy texture in the mouth, which in turn exhibited incomplete melting at body temperature.

Source: Journal of Food Science

Ingredients, Research fats, palm oil

Unilever said its deal with leading supplier, Unimills, for segregated certified sustainable palm oil represents a small start for the Dutch food and personal care group but takes the company in the right direction in terms of its 2015 total palm oil usage sourcing pledge.

Gavin Neath, senior vice president of sustainability at Unilever said the company was not willing to disclose the precise volumes of segregated palm oil that the food group was sourcing from Unimills but he stressed that Unilever was now ahead of its plan to derive all of its palm oil from Rountable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified plantations within a five year timeframe.

He told this publication that this goal was achievable, particularly now as agricommodity giants Cargill along with Unimills and another leading supplier, IOI, have been landing segregated certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) in Rotterdam.

“We expect an acceleration in the quantities of CSPO coming onto the market, as these companies now recognise the industry demand for this form of the ingredient,” added Neath.

Unimills sources the CSPO for Unilever from its parent company, Sime Darby, whose plantations in Malaysia are RSPO backed.

The CSPO is processed into specialty fats that are then sent to Unilever for use in its food or personal care range.

Neath said that a great percentage of the snack, margarine and soup mix manufacturer’s products contained the oil, but he would not be drawn on exact figures. Industry experts estimate that around one third of all food and personal care items sold in supermarkets contain the controversial ingredient.

There are serious concerns about the effect of the palm oil industry on the environment, as intensive plantations have cleared habitats for endangered species like tigers and orangutans in South Asia, while also adding to carbon emissions.

When asked by this publication if Unilever had a strategy in place to reformulate its products to allow for a reduction in the amount of palm oil used by the company, Neath stressed that the ingredient offered unmatched cost efficiencies compared to other vegetable oils and the food group was intent on continuing to use it.

“Palm oil can be six to ten times more productive than sunflower oil, and if it is cultivated correctly it can be a sustainable crop. That is what we, and our partners in the RSPO, are working towards,” he explained.

The RSPO was set up in 2004 to promote sustainable palm oil use – and changing to palm oil that is sustainable or supports green palm certification has become a major trend for food manufacturers and retailers.

UK advocates Sustain said that it is good news that multinationals have at last started to acknowledge that some palm oil production is the result of rainforest devastation but Greenpeace and others have raised concerns that the RSPO mark is not yet a guarantee that palm oil will have come from a truly sustainable source.

According to Neath, the RSPO, of which Unilever is a founding member, makes every effort to ensure that it can stand over its certification of a palm oil producer as sustainable, but he concurs that there is an element of truth in the NGOs’ view of the organisation as not being as efficient as it could be.

However, he said that, currently it is the only institution of its type that exists and it is beholden on Unilever and its partners to make the RSPO more rigorous.

“It takes a while for a strong infrastructure to be built up in an organisation such as this,” argues Neath. “It is important to remember that it was only the back end of 2008 that the RSPO was able to certify the first batch of CSPO. Now it is certifiying segregated sustainable palm oil in the region of two million tonnes,” he continued.

Sime Darby acting president and group CEO, Dato Mohd Bakke, said that to date 15 of its strategic operating units have been awarded the RSPO certification, and that these have the capacity to produce over 500,000 tonnes of CSPO.

Source: Food Navigator

Ingredients palm oil, Unilever, Unimills

Cadbury’s dairy milk chocolate will now sport a “Fairtrade” logo on its redesigned packaging, while retaining the smaller block size it switched to last year.

The confectionary maker would also increase the amount of cocoa solids in its product, from 21% to 26%.

All of the ingredients in the company’s nine Cadbury Dairy Milk products that could be certified “Fairtrade” would be, New Zealand managing director Matthew Oldham said.

The move follows widespread criticism of a decision in August last year to switch to using palm oil in its chocolate.

The firm started using palm oil as part of a cost-cutting exercise, which also saw the 150g and 250g bars shed about 20% of their weight.

Palm oil production was responsible for the rapid destruction of rainforest habitats and remained the single greatest threat to the existence of orangutans, and many other South East Asian wildlife species.

Though Cadbury only bought and used certified sustainable palm oil for the brief time it used it in its chocolate, the public had spoken – and wanted the palm oil out, Oldham said.

Cadbury responded to public outcry and changing back to the original recipe the new-look, logo-emblazoned chocolates would be on shelves in time for Easter, he said.

The smaller product size would remain.

The company’s use of Fairtrade product would help improve life for more than 40,000 Ghanaian cocoa farmers, who grew the beans the company used in its chocolate, Mr Oldham said.

Source : Reuters

Chocolate, Companies Cadbury, Chocolate, palm oil