Nutella Uses Palm Oil Considered As Dangerous To Health

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Palm oil is acquired from the fruits and kernels of palm plants. It is deliberated as superior among vegetable fat since it makes food easy to spread.

This vegetable oil is used all over the world in baked goods, candy and convenience foods such as chips, snacks and frozen foods. It is also used as shortening or margarine supplement. Palm oil is also used in making the greatly well-liked hazelnut spread, Nutella, which yields its creamy consistency.

According to Nutella website, palm oil is the optimum ingredient for guaranteeing its exceptional spreadability. In addition, use of palm oil is escaping from a hydrogenation process that particularly generates unhealthy trans fats.

However, the European Food Safety Authority said that palm oil is a "potential health concern" when processed incorrectly and this issue leaked out last May.

The safety authority released last year a scientific opinion about the current degrees of glycerol-based process contaminants that are discovered in palm oil. 

Palm oil was known to contain the highest levels of the contaminants among all vegetable oils. These contaminants are produced when the vegetable oils are heated to an extensive temperature. Animal studies detected the contaminants as both genotoxic and carcinogenic.

The significant statement of EFSA arises from the existence of contaminants in palm oil. It is not the characteristics of palm oil itself, said Doug Boucher, an ecologist and scientific adviser for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Ferrero, the maker of Nutella released a promotional advertisement in October to give feedback on the EFSA. The ad expounds that palm oil in Nutella products is heated only under an acceptable level of heating temperatures. This means a safe heating and does not result in the build-up of contaminants.

Beth M. Kotran, general counsel for Ferrero U.S.A. Inc., wrote in an email saying that Nutella and other Ferrero products containing palm oil are safe.