UK-based supermarket chain Iceland has announced that they will no longer be using palm oil in any of its 130 own name brand product lines.
The ban, which will go into full effect by the end of 2018, is expected to reduce demand by over 500 tons every year.
Palm oil is one of the largest contributors to deforestation in south-east Asia. While other corporate food brands have made efforts to certify their products as palm oil-free, Iceland is the first major UK grocery store to ban the ingredient.
Currently, about half of the supermarket’s products contain palm oil. Even though the ban may incur additional costs to the company, representatives say that those expenses will not be passed onto the consumer.
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Iceland managing director Richard Walker told the BBC: “Certified sustainable palm oil does not currently limit deforestation and it does not currently limit the growth of palm oil plantations. So until such a time as there is genuinely sustainable palm oil that contains zero deforestation, we are saying no to palm oil.”
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