Cheap fats such as palm oil are being used more and more frequently in foods. This is the result of a current long-term study with more than 115,000 foods.
The study
Since 2012, the percentage of cheap fat in food has been documented annually by the Codecheck advice portal. The latest survey now shows that cheap fat is being processed in more and more foods. This is an increase of 6.5 percent since the analysis began. According to the results of the study, there was even a 26 percent increase in nut and chocolate creams.
According to Codecheck, around 6.5 percent of the products examined were declared as containing palm oil in 2012 – in 2015 it was already 13 percent. This cheap fat is used for cooking and frying. But palm oil can also be found in chocolate, sausage products, or Asian-ready meals.
Palm oil
The extraction of palm oil has been highly controversial for years because it causes significant environmental damage. The use of palm oil as a portion of food plays a rather subordinate role.
International environmental protection organizations criticize above all the use of palm oil as a basis for fuel and in the production of candles and cosmetics because the establishment of huge plantations regularly destroys large areas of the tropical rainforest and thus also the habitat of various animal species threatened with extinction.
