Dr Jean Graille, a world renowned biotechnology expert who focuses on fats and lipids, completed his studies at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Marseille (National Chemical Engineering Institute of Marseilles). He began working as a researcher at the Institut des Corps Gras (Institute for Fats and Oils) before continuing his career in the Agribusiness Programme of CIRAD, where he managed the team for ‘Food and Non-Food Substances – Lipid Technology Sciences’. Dr Graille won the Chevreul medal in 1997 and went on to receive the Kaufmann Prize in 1999 – the first French person to do so.

In an interview, he examines the French view of oils and fats, including palm oil. He also dismantles the myths perpetuated by the anti-palm oil lobby, and issues the timely reminder that there is no justification to avoid the use of this important commodity.

In your opinion, do the French have an adequate understanding of oils and fats?

Absolutely not! Like all global consumers, the French are far from having a good understanding of foods that are commercially available to them, and fats and oils are no exception.

Two statements are often made to illustrate this point:

• ‘Butter contains more fat than sunflower or canola oil.’
  Not true! Butter contains 20% water. It is a water-in-oil emulsion containing 80% fat, whereas sunflower and canola oils contain 100% fat.
• ‘Olive oil contains more fat than hazelnut oil.’
  Wrong! Both consist of 100% fat.

However, it is interesting to note that both beliefs come from sensory perceptions and have to do with the appearance of these products and how they feel in our mouths. Beliefs based on sensory perceptions have nothing to do with scientific evidence.

‘Tobacco and alcohol are deadly’; ‘It is dangerous to consume too much sugar’; ‘You need to exercise and eat 4 to 6 servings of fruit or vegetables per day and avoid eating too much fat’; ‘Oils containing omega 3 and 6 are healthy’ – these are accurate claims supported by scientific research.

The following two beliefs are not backed by scientific evidence and lead us toward misinformation:

• ‘Palm oil is responsible for cancer and cardiovascular disease because it contains a lot of saturated fats.’
• ‘Palm kernel oil is also responsible for these types of disease.’

Unfortunately, consumers assimilate this information; and although few of them read the labels on food items on the shelves, these types of claims grow to unfairly demonise an entire segment of the agro-food industry. The idea that something may damage your health is a powerful factor in the spread of false information.

Two Belgian Senators, Sabine de Bethune and Cindy Frassen, proposed to limit the content of palm oil in food products to 2gm per 100gm. They have argued that using palm oil is as dangerous as using trans fats. Is there any evidence for this claim? What negative effects could there be from the Senators’ proposal to limit palm oil?

There is no scientific evidence that supports the Honourable Senators’ comments. However, there is plenty of research and global scientific literature that demonstrates that the regular consumption of trans fats is dangerous. Scientific studies all lead to the same conclusion: the consumption of trans fats induces cardiovascular disease and cancer, particularly breast cancer. Palm oil is completely free of trans fats. It contains a balance of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and its consumption is not linked to any form of cancer.

When the Honourable Senators proposed to limit the content of palm oil, they were undoubtedly confused with the decision by several EU member-states to limit the content of trans fats in fats and oils; in fact, Denmark has set this limit at 2%.

Note that palm oil is a natural product that does not cause health problems, given its unique chemical structure. Furthermore, palm oil contains Vitamin E and is the most significant source of tocotrienols, which offer protection against cancer and are pro-Vitamin A.

 

Finally, do not forget that we need saturated fats as our cell membranes must be very fluid in order to allow waste to exit and nutrients to enter our cells. Mother Nature designed the lipid composition of cell membranes to include a precise and smart ratio between saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

These simple reminders show how sorely mistaken these two Honourable Senators are in tabling such proposals and engaging in scare-mongering.

Valuable Palm Oil was last modified: April 12th, 2016 by GOFB

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