Palm Oil - Better Food

Palm oil is a sticky problem for food manufacturers and, in turn, retailers. It’s become widely used in processed products of all kinds because, in many ways, it makes those products better – lengthening shelf-life, and maintaining the right consistency without affecting flavour or smell. What’s more, it’s mass-produced and incredibly efficient in terms of land use. But it’s also extremely controversial, having been associated with deforestation, poor worker conditions and, of course, millions of collective food miles.

In our sourcing and our cafés

Minimising palm oil in our supply chains

The most effective thing we can do in keeping palm oil to a minimum in our supply chain is to stock as many wholefoods and products that have been minimally processed as possible. That’s one of the reasons you’ll find our shelves full of wholefood ingredients, and products that only have a handful of ingredients, even if it means their shelf-life is a little shorter than more processed products.

In sourcing new products, our first priority is products containing no palm oil at all.

We keep palm oil to an absolute minimum in our cafés—you’ll find it in some of our cakes and pastries. Ask at the till for more information on the ingredients in our café items.

Sourcing better palm oil

If there is clear justification for the use of palm oil in a new product, we will only accept new products containing certified organic oil, oil certified by the RSPO (Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil) to the highest levels – Identity Preserved, or Segregated, or oil from robust Fair Trade schemes such as FairPalm. This goes for our cafés, too. We’re also in the process of auditing all of our existing stock to meet this standard.

In our practice

Our stores and offices are cleaned with palm-oil free cleaning products.

Keeping up to date with the latest developments

Research and thinking on sustainable palm oil are constantly developing, so we’re committed to keeping up to date on the latest developments, and adjusting our own policies as necessary.

We proactively take part in the development of better palm oil practice in Bristol, and have consulted with Bristol Zoo and We the Curious to explore a more sustainable approach to palm oil in supply chains, as well as with Soil Association as they develop stronger standards on palm oil use.

Where we want to be

Our aim is to guarantee that any products we stock containing palm oil are certified organic, or contain oil that is RSPO Identity Preserved/ Segregated, or from robust Fair Trade schemes such as FairPalm.

How are we keeping an eye on this policy and putting it into practice?

We ask all new suppliers to state whether they use palm oil in their products in our sourcing questionnaire and, if so, to tell us whether it is certified. Our buying team actively seek products that do not contain palm oil, and are conducting an audit of our products to identify any products containing palm oil that doesn’t match our policy. In those cases, products will be removed and an alternative found.