New Britain Palm Oil Ltd (NBPOL) and Singapore-based agribusiness Wilmar International, owner of Sucrogen, have established a supply and marketing deal to provide continental Europe with traceable, segregated sustainable palm oil. The venture will supply UK-listed NBPOL with palm oil from plantations in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. The palm oil will be available from Wilmar’s refinery in Brake, Germany. The refinery in Brake has... ...Read more »

Kellogg Company announced last week that it is helping fund sustainable palm oil production through purchasing GreenPalm certificates covering 100 percent of its global palm oil use. Today, GreenPalm estimates that only six percent of the current global supply of palm oil is sustainably grown. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) continues to work toward the development of a consistent and sufficient supply of segregated, sustainably grown palm oil, however, it is currently not available... ...Read more »

Woolworths today put out a request for information to all suppliers and importers of palm oil in Australia, in an attempt to assess the availability of sustainable palm oil. The supermarket chain aims to use only palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in its private label products by 2015, a target set in March last year, and the supermarket became the first Australian retail member of the RSPO in September. Woolworths said that while deforestation and threatened habitats... ...Read more »

Queensland’s Runcorn State School’s tuckshop has been stocked with more environmentally friendly food products after year 7 student Nicholas Buddle discovered noodles on sale contained palm oil from farms which replace habitat of the threatened orangutan. Queensland’s Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones presented Nicholas with the top award at today’s inaugural Green Lane Diary Environmental Hero Awards, held at the Queensland Museum. “Nicholas has shown real leadership... ...Read more »

A symbol to show consumers that products contain “sustainable” palm oil was launched yesterday (9 November).The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) unveiled the trademark at its annual meeting in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. The RSPO said the logo will mean consumers can “easily distinguish” products that contain palm oil sourced following the organisation’s rules. “The RSPO trademark will reassure consumers that products they buy contribute to sustainable... ...Read more »

The Dutch Product Board for Margarine, Fats and Oil (MVO) announced last week (5 November) that all palm oil used in the country would be sustainable by the end of 2015, as certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) The MVO said that all palm oil suppliers and buyers in the Dutch market have “pledged to work collectively towards this goal”. The Dutch Taskforce on Sustainable Palm Oil, which includes all associations representing the Dutch refining industry, food manufacturing... ...Read more »

General Mills, the US company behind brands like Haagen-Dazs ice cream and Nature Valley snack bars, has set a target of using only “palm oil from responsible and sustainable sources” by 2015.The company said its use of palm oil was “modest” and accounted for around 0.1% of its production. However, General Mills believes companies like itself could have an impact on the issue. “We acknowledge that responsible users of even small amounts of ingredients can impact issues... ...Read more »

Edible oils giant Cargill has entered into a supply agreement to provide Unilever’s European operations with 10,000 tonnes of sustainable palm oil. Cargill will provide the company with segregated oil, certified by the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the production and supply chain of which is entirely separate from other non-sustainable products. Cargill said its new offering will strengthen its ability to provide sustainable palm oil products to meet customers’ requirements... ...Read more »

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has become Australia’s first industry association to gain membership to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the world’s leading not-for-profit organisation supporting sustainable use and production of palm oil.The RSPO was established by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), industry stakeholders and NGOs in 2004. The industry-led association – with more than 400 members worldwide – has established a rigorous set of principles... ...Read more »

Palm oil firm Golden Agri-Resources has struck a deal to buy Chinese noodle maker Florentina International Holdings (FIH) for CNY976m (US$142.8m).FIH, the food arm of Asia Food & Properties Limited (AFP), makes snack noodles, instant noodles and ice sticks in China. The company has eight production plants in seven provinces in China and also has a distribution network of sales and liaison offices throughout the country. Golden Agri-Resources said the proposed acquisition would allow it to leverage... ...Read more »