Why you should minimise your use of palm oil
The World Congress on Oils and Fats is holding an international conference in Sydney this week to update the industry on new scientific findings. One of the studies presented by the Australian Heart Foundation criticised the commercial food industry for not taking long established advice to change to using healthier fats in the manufacture of all food products. The industry is still predominantly relying on palm oil simply because it is the cheapest available. But palm oil is 55 % saturated fat compared to vegetable oils such as canola at only 8% saturated fat. The lower saturated fat makes canola a much healthier fat to eat than palm oil.
Consumers are generally using healthier oils for their home cooking after having read the advice over the years to use more extra virgin olive oil, and the various vegetable oils available in the market. It is the fat in meals and snacks eaten in restaurants and fast food outlets that is the main concern to the Heart Foundation. The recommendations put out by Food Standards Australia New Zealand advise that the fats in the diet should not exceed 10% of the daily energy intake. However, studies have shown that the average Australian consumes half again as much fat.
Several multinationals have voluntarily changed to healthier oils for all of their products, such as the McDonalds food chain, Unilever (which manufactures the Hellman’s, Flora, Bovril and Magnum brands), and Goodman Fielder (which produces brands such as Logicol, Crisco, Praise). But the increase from year to year in the amount of palm oil being imported into Australia shows that other companies are not heeding health authorities’ advice.
Unfortunately for conscientious consumers there is no legal obligation on the part of Australian food manufacturers to label the amount of trans fat in their products (as is required in the USA), nor do they have to admit to the presence of palm oil as an ingredient. It can just be labelled as ordinary vegetable oil, which is misleading to those who want to avoid trans fats and palm oil. To learn more about trans fats read Dr Moyes speech here.
The Heart Foundation says that fats are an important part of a healthy balanced diet and you should not exclude them, but the fats you choose matter. Recent research shows that getting more of your dietary fat from plants instead of animals could offer a protective edge against some forms of cancer. Always use the healthiest unsaturated fats instead of saturated and trans fats, and that will reduce your risk of heart disease and obesity. Avoiding the over abundance of food products made with palm oil is advised, and mounting consumer pressure may eventually result in labeling by food manufacturers being a requirement in Australia, as well.