Iceland will be temporarily revert to using palm oil in some own-label foods from June because the Ukraine war has sent the price of the alternative, sunflower oil, soaring.
In 2018 the supermarket chain revealed it would remove palm oil from its products and became a prominent campaigner against its use. Now Iceland boss, Richard Walker admitted in a blog that he is making a U-turn with “huge regret”.
Walker said the retailer would use sustainable palm oil as “a last resort and as a strictly temporary measure” in a limited range of products, with all packs clearly showing the ingredient if used. In some products, palm oil can be substituted for rapeseed oil.
Both farmers and retailers are calling on the government for urgent action to prevent rising food prices and potential shortages in the UK as the war in Ukraine threatens harvests of grain and oil seeds, energy costs and the production of fertiliser.
The Black Sea region, where Ukraine and Russia are located, accounts for 80% of supplies of sunflower oil, and supplies have been interrupted amid the ongoing conflict.
