Ensuring the sustainability of our supply chain has never been more important.
We use a variety of vegetable fats in our range of encapsulated functional ingredients, including rapeseed, sunflower and palm oil. Recently, we’ve taken steps to broaden the range of our products that contain sustainable palm oil or palm-free alternatives. Our procurement and technical departments work hard to ensure that all our materials come from ethical and sustainable sources.
Why not palm oil?
Palm oil is widely used and can be found in a vast range of consumer products, from lipstick to margarine. The industry supporting the manufacture of palm oil employs thousands of people worldwide, making it an important contributor to the global economy. So why do some consumers not want to see it used by their favourite brands?
Given the huge global demand for palm oil, its production has historically had a detrimental effect on the environment. Land clearance has reduced or destroyed the habitats of orangutans, elephants and tigers, among other species. As a result, some of them have been added to the endangered species list. Beyond the direct effects on wildlife habitats, deforestation also releases large quantities of carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change.
Palm oil is not all bad!
However, the story on palm oil is not all bad news. There are definite benefits to producing palm oil compared to other vegetable fats, largely around land usage. Although some methods for clearing land can harm the environment, palm oil is still the most productive vegetable oil crop currently farmed. In fact, it uses less than half the amount of land required by other crops to produce the equivalent volume of oil. (Source: WWF)
TasteTech’s commitment to sustainable palm oil sourcing
To demonstrate our commitment to sustainability with regards to sourcing palm oil, we are certified by the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). The RSPO is an international not-for-profit organisation that unites stakeholders from across the palm oil industry to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil.
Dr Gary Gray, head of our technical department, had this to say on our fat-based barrier materials:
“TasteTech specialises in encapsulating functional ingredients, providing advantages in many different applications and serving diverse markets globally. To meet the needs of a wide range of customers, we source high-quality vegetable fats/lipids to address market issues and improve sustainability.
The vegetable fats we use include rapeseed, sunflower and palm oil. Rapeseed and sunflower are sourced within Europe and are ideal for customers who do not wish to use palm oil.
The palm oil is carefully sourced to ensure it is sustainable, originating from SE Asia. TasteTech is a member of the RSPO and supports its efforts to make certified sustainable palm oil.”
How we give our customers choice
Since 1992, we have been creating innovative ingredients that give our customers choice in their manufacturing and solve processing challenges. We recognise that our customers cater for unique consumer markets with differing demands and trends. For example, when purchasing an encapsulated acid to be used as a sour coating on candy, some customers choose an acid that contains RSPO-certified palm oil whereas others wish to take advantage of our palm oil-free GMS range.
GMS (Glyceryl monostearate, E471) is derived from vegetable oil. The process creates a material that has a good melting point and coating properties. The GMS we normally use is either rapeseed- or sunflower-derived, ensuring we can make well-encapsulated products without the use of palm oil.
For further information on sustainable palm oil follow the link below to the RSPO website.
Follow this link to see our standards and certifications.
For more on our range of encapsulated acids follow this link.
