Should we be concerned with Palm Oil?

What is palm oil?

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil produced from the pulp of the fruits of palms and that is solid at room temperature. 

Which products contain palm oil?

It can be found in a wide range of food products such as cooking oils, margarine, fats for baking, pastries, biscuits, ice cream and various other kinds of foods.

Why is palm oil used?

Palm oil has specific functional properties that make it an important ingredient in food manufacturing. It contributes to taste, heat stability, resistance to oxidation, texture and smoothness. Importantly, palm oil virtually contains no trans fatty acids. In recent years the replacement of trans fatty acids, has led to an increased use of palm oil to lower trans fatty acids in foods. No other vegetable fats naturally solid at room temperature and providing the same features exist in sufficient quantity.

Is the consumption of palm oil a health concern?

There are no health concerns specific to palm oil. Exceeding recommended intakes for saturated fat – from any source – is undesirable.

Palm oil contains 50% saturated fat, which compares favourably to the saturated fat content of other fats of similar application: coconut (92%), butter (66%), cocoa butter (62%) 

At the same time, using palm oil in place of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils reduces the content of trans fats in foods made with these oils. Both saturated and trans fats can raise LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. However, unlike saturated fats, trans fats also lead to a fall in HDL (good) cholesterol and raise blood triglyceride levels, both of which are associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease.

Overall, the European Food Safety Authority recommends that intakes of saturated fats and trans fats be as low as possible