France is famous for having banned genetically-modified agriculture. Do you think that most French consumers know that palm oil does not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs)?
Palm oil has the advantage of not containing GMOs. The oil palm has been improved through traditional breeding selection techniques. In Southeast Asia, the palm species Elaeis guineensis, originally from West Africa, has been successfully cultivated. There are extremely high yields per hectare, often exceeding 4 tonnes in certain areas.
To this day, palm oil has never been produced from transgenic crops. On the other hand, soybean, canola and corn oil from both the North and South American continents likely come from transgenic crops.
Why do food producers like palm oil so much?
Palm oil is a key ingredient because it has many desirable qualities. For instance, it is used to give certain foods a specific texture and consistency. In addition, palm oil is popular because it requires limited processing and stands up well against the thermal and oxidative stress that is encountered during cooking and frying; this is due to the fact that it contains few polyunsaturated fatty acids which are very sensitive to heat and oxygen.
Palm oil also gives foods a longer shelf-life as its tocopherols (Vitamin E) and tocotrienols (Vitamin E analogs) protect against thermo-oxidative degradation.
Why do food manufacturers prefer palm oil and its derivatives to hydrogenated oils (soybean and canola)?
Producing goods with palm oil or its derivatives results in products that are more stable without any ‘off’ flavours or unpleasant odours when cooking or reheating; this is not at all the case when shortenings manufactured from liquid oils are used.
In essence, industrial manufacturers prefer palm oil and its derivatives because these provide a broader range of applications at a lower cost – for instance, very specialised stearins are obtained through fractionation of palm oil.
Cocoa butter equivalents (CBE) are produced with thermoplastic characteristics identical to cocoa butter. CBE cost five to 10 times less than cocoa butter and are very important from a technical point of view. The European Union has authorised the use of CBE in cocoa butter by up to 5%.
Excellent 100% CBE chocolate can be found in Malaysia, which is not surprising because the cocoa is what gives the flavour – not the fat, which only provides the ‘melt in the mouth’ sensation due to the properties of cocoa butter or CBE.
What do food manufacturers and retailers need to do in order to prevent the spread of misinformation on fats and oils in France?
Unfortunately, the spread of incorrect information and misinformation is a serious problem. While it is true that it is more complicated to provide information on a formulated food that contains 10 to 20 different ingredients than on a basic product, producers can counter the spread of misinformation by providing scientifically accurate information on their labels.
The Oil Palm, Oct 25, 2015
