Iceland reverses palm oil ban as Ukraine war hits food prices
Iceland will be temporarily revert to using palm oil in some own-label foods from June because the Ukraine war has sent the price of the alternative, sunflower oil, soaring.
In 2018 the supermarket chain revealed it would remove palm oil from its products and became a prominent campaigner against its use. Now Iceland boss, Richard Walker admitted in a blog that he is making a U-turn with “huge regret”.
“The only alternative to using palm oil under the current circumstances would simply be to clear our freezers and shelves of a wide range of staples including frozen chips and other potato products,” he said.
Walker said the retailer would use sustainable palm oil as “a last resort and as a strictly temporary measure” in a limited range of products, with all packs clearly showing the ingredient if used. In some products, palm oil can be substituted for rapeseed oil.
“I haven’t changed my mind about palm oil, which is why this is strictly a temporary move, and one that I would not countenance at all if I could see any viable alternative,” Walker said.
“This is a serious emergency and one that requires tough choices and compromises if we are to achieve our prime objective of continuing to feed the nation and of delivering affordable food to those on tight budgets, who will inevitably be those worst affected by the unprecedented pressures now building up in our supply chains.”
Both farmers and retailers are calling on the government for urgent action to prevent rising food prices and potential shortages in the UK as the war in Ukraine threatens harvests of grain and oil seeds, energy costs and the production of fertiliser.
The Black Sea region, where Ukraine and Russia are located, accounts for 80% of supplies of sunflower oil, and supplies have been interrupted amid the ongoing conflict.
Russia and Ukraine are major wheat producers and also account for about 45% of rapeseed, which is imported to the UK to make cooking oil.
