Why is Palm Oil a Good Product to Use in Chocolate

Palm oil is an essential ingredient in food items nowadays. It is present in about 50% of the products that require fat components. Palm oil is believed to be a natural and non-GMO oil, which is semi-solid at room temperature. Among so many other delicious things you love that contain palm oil, chocolate has to be the biggest loyal consumer of this product. 

Chocolate’s most fundamental ingredient is cocoa. The fine granules of cocoa fruit are blended with palm oil. Upon blending, the mixture is allowed to crystallize, and it is then heated to make the present-day chocolate that is sold all over the world today. 

Facts About Palm Oil 

There are certain facts about palm oil that would help the consumers make an informed choice. 

• Palm oil is a rich source of saturated fats. It takes up to 55% of a human body’s need for saturated fats, while we consume more of it daily accumulating the fat that is not required in the body.
• Plantation of palm oil trees causes deforestation, and to be specific, over 300 football fields worth of forest is cleared just to make more room for the plantation of palm. This renders many animals homeless and reduces the overall population of flora and fauna. One such animal is the Orangutan, about 50% of their population has already been left homeless due to the loss of their habitats, which go into palm plantation. Every year, it is listed that about 1500 Orangutans are killed, when caught in midst of deforestation to grow palm to produce more oil. The population of Sumatran tigers is almost extinct because of this compulsive behavior.
• One of the countries that are largely affected due to Palm oil cultivation is Indonesia. They have cleared up to 10 million hectares of tropical forest. They are also struggling with land and human rights conflicts. It is not only the Orangutans but also human beings going homeless due to the vast enforcement of Palm Plantation.
• To grow Palm, one should be certified by RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Oil) however it is seen that only about 35% of the total Palm growers are actually certified while the majority of them only pay to be a member of it which violates Human rights. 

Why is it Used in Chocolate?

No matter how harmful palm oil is, it is one of the products that are heavily used while making almost any fat-saturated products that are listed in the market. There are certain reasons why it is so popular amongst producers especially those who produce chocolate.

One of the main factors is that it is one of the cheapest available oils. Due to the mass production of palm oil, it is also the cheapest available oil very easily found in domestic or global markets. It is labeled as the highest-yielding product vegetable oil crop. It grows near the equator and requires a tropical climate. Various countries that are into palm plantation are Nigeria, Brazil, Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc. 

Palm oil is a very peculiar ingredient as it helps in maintaining the properties of the product even in high temperatures, which is useful in chocolate making as they need to maintain its texture even at the high room temperature.

Palm oil is odorless, it gives a smooth and creamy texture to the chocolate that makes it a perfect ingredient. It also helps in preserving the food for a longer period.

Chocolates Containing Palm Oil

Various companies have been using palm oil as their main ingredient while producing various chocolates. Some of them are Dairy Milk, Mars, Nutella, Kinder, Aero, Ferrero Rocher, etc. 

Their main temptation is a smooth and shiny texture with a higher melting point making chocolates last longer in a bag and also making them manageable in hotter climates and keeping chocolates as easy to carry. 

Since, chocolates make for the perfect valentine’s day, friendship day, and so many other “day” specific gifts, you wanna make sure that chocolates are worth gifting. Not just from a taste point of view, but also in the way they are presented. A slippery sloppy mess isn’t appealing! 

You wanna make sure your chocolates from a trip to Bruges will remain intelligent souvenirs after long flights and horrid luggage packages. You wanna make sure that once your friend or special one takes a bite and the chocolate gets exposed, it doesn’t go bad for a long time.

Fortunately, palm oil helps a cocoa block maintain some concrete shape and shane. Moreover, it prolongs the chocolate’s life. 

However, chocolate isn’t the only delicacy making use of palm oil. Believe it or not, palm oil goes in a lot more products. To know more, click here.

How Palm Oil Affects Health: Pros & Cons

To understand the pros and cons of anything, in our case – palm oil, we need to understand the composition of palm oil. The ingredient assembly is what decides how your palm oil will sail! 

A tablespoon of palm oil contains about 114 calories, 14 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 1.5 grams of Polyunsaturated fat, and 11% of Vitamin E.

Now, some off these are good for humans, while others…eh! However, let us first read the merits:

1. Healthy Brain: With 11% of vitamin E present in the product, it consists of strong antioxidant properties, which help in maintaining brain health. The polyunsaturated fats in the brain are prevented by the tocotrienols present in Palm oil, it helps in preventing dementia, risk of stroke, and growth of lesions in the brain.
2. Healthy Heart: Palm oil consists of cholesterol-lowering effects. In a study, the use of about 2 tablespoons of hybrid Palm oil daily reduces about 15% LDL cholesterol level.
3. Better Vitamin A: Studies have shown that red palm oil (which is obtained before palm oil is pressed and filtered aggressively) moderate consumption betters Vitamin A levels in the blood, which helps pregnant women. People with cystic fibrosis, who have difficulty absorbing vitamins, could also increase the level of Vitamin A by using two or three tablespoons of red palm oil for eight weeks daily.

This is where I remind you that some of the first chocolate evidence goes far back to Egyptian pharaohs, who are said to have been deep into cocoa powder for its dopamine-boosting aphrodisiac effect. However, back then, chocolate wasn’t so much of a soft bar, rather just a powder. 

No evidence hints at the usage of palm oil in chocolates back then, however, not that people use it, we need to consider the bad effects too. It’s interesting to note that palm oil has been around in cooking over 3000 years back. 

With more studies conducted, it has been listed that there are many negative aspects of palm oil as well.

1. Not so healthy for our hearts: It was shown in various studies that palm oil greatly affects women that are already high bad-cholesterol patients. Palm oil can further increase their levels giving them a greater danger, cardiac diseases. 
2. Affecting Animals: Rats that consumed Palm oil which has been several times reheated about were more likely to develop large arterial plaques. The more we reheat the palm oil, there are more instances for it to cause plaque which is deposited in the arteries due to the minimized activity of the oil’s antioxidants.

Sustainability of the Ingredient

The sustainable production of palm oil is one of the initiatives taken up by the WWF. 

• RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Oil) was established in 2004 to regulate the growth of Palm Plantation. Various certification modules were given to attain the required standard of sustainable production of palm oil which mainly focuses on reducing the harmful effects of palm plantation. Certain brands like Lindt & Sprüngli have been working towards providing a better environment in the production of palm oil. They make sure that their standards and high ethical values are met while producing the chocolates that they are most widely known for.
• Besides RSPO, various other institutions regulate the sustainability of palm oil production. One such organization is the German ISCC, which keeps guidelines including the issues like deforestation, loss of habitats, and violation of human rights in any cause. 
• Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) is a mandatory national scheme that ensures the international standards are maintained while choosing the best practices for the plantation of palm oil and managing the plantation without neglecting the environment.

These certifications ensure that the production of palm oil is done safely keeping the environment and human rights making the chocolates produced under these certifications more trustworthy and are more likely to be purchased and consumed.

Devastating Effects of Palm Oil on the Environment

Being an essential part of most products, and in this case, chocolates, palm oil production has dramatically affected the environment. It not only caused deforestation and loss of habitat but also almost extinction of various species like Rhinos, elephants, and tigers.

1. Air Pollution:  What most people don’t realize is that land remains a very limited asset. It’s not like the earth is 70% “earth”. it’s 70% water and just 30% is there for us to live, farm, walk, etc. In that 30%, we have to grow all the crops and so, we have to clear some forests to grow the stuff we grow. This means, palm crops are grown on lands where deep tropical forests have been burnt. All those plants getting burnt ruin an ecosystem and emit harmful greenhouse gases, of the likes of sulphur dioxide, which leads to inevitable air pollution.
2. Water Pollution: Now, if you are gonna be doing some farming, you will need loads of irrigation and chemicals sprinkled to prevent bad grow. All those chemicals will pollute the groundwater and water sources around as the mixture would flow also. 
3. Soil Erosion: A forest is made of plants that naturally belong in that geography. Now, this is done so to ensure the land can maintain a healthy ecosystem. When that is disturbed, the land might not remain so firm and landslides, floods might become too frequent in that area. 
4. Climate Change: Even if we ignore the pollution caused by burning all abundant forests, we have to look at how palm trees deprive the planet of carbon-sucking machines, which is going to heat our atmosphere too. More carbon and sulphur in the environment means less climate control. Rains will be acidic as the water reacts to carbon monoxides and sulphur monoxides. The acidic rains will cause agriculture shutdowns. Water levels rise. Glaciers melt. So much happens when you remove forests and try making some palm oil!

So, what do we do?

Cadbury & Kellogg’s Policies Regarding Palm Oil

Under the above-mentioned circumstances, Cadbury and Kellogg’s have changed their policies regarding the use of palm oil. Cadbury claimed that they are not using palm oil at all in their products while stating that their Australian branch has been using it in a small amount for flavor. They also claim that these small amounts of palm oil use consist of 99% of the sustainable practices certified by the board. They have taken a path of accepting segregated palm oil, which is made keeping in mind the environment, habitats, and ecosystem. Cadbury has stated that it is just one of the steps they are willing to take to protect the environment while keeping in mind many other criteria to provide quality products to the consumers.

Kellogg’s made sure that they suspend all the companies, which are a threat to the ecosystem, rainforests, and also, notable names which disrespect human rights. The brand adopted new palm oil and deforestation policies that urge their manufacturers and stakeholders to keep working towards the communities. Kellogg’s made sure to make meaningful commitments to the general public as it does repute or malign their brand name and trust-building amongst the general masses regarding the consumption of their products.

Introducing a substitute: Cocoa Butter

In every chocolate bar, the texture and the creaminess are taken into consideration and this is achieved by cocoa liquor mixed with cocoa butter. Even though cocoa products are never without high demand and high prices, they still are some among the best substitutes of substances that are hazardous to health.

Cocoa butter consists of high levels of fatty acids and tocopherols. Certain components of the fatty acids that cocoa butter has are about 34.5% of Stearic, 34.5% of Oleic, 26% Palmitic, 3.2% of Linoleic, 1% of Arachidic, 0.3% of Palmitoleic, and 0.5% of other fatty acids.

When the correct composition is tempered properly, there is a correct crystal formation which gives chocolate its rich texture and gloss. Even when the cocoa butter substitutes are taken into consideration because of their high melting point and smooth texture, going back to the cocoa butter will reduce much of the health risk that has been rising in today’s date.

Cocoa butter is a unique substance with a melting point of 34° C (93° F) which is less than the body temperature giving chocolate its rich gloss and beautiful texture. It also enables the chocolate to dissolve in the mouth which ultimately increases its flavor. It is noted that the substitutes that have a higher melting point gave back a waxy aftertaste which was bad for any chocolate. If there is a change in the melting point, there will be a change in the flavor of the product as it will release the flavor at a different time set which changes the overall taste of chocolates.

Conclusion

To conclude, one could say that chocolate making industries should stop using palm oil as one of the most used ingredients. It already has affected our environment by causing deforestation and various kinds of pollution that have drastically taken a toll on the human race also. Moreover, it has not only affected the planet, but it has perturbed our health too. Also, regular consumption of palm oil has led to heart diseases and high cholesterol, making it one of the leading causes of obesity. It also has contributed to various kinds of conflicts like human rights, extinction of animals, and their habitats. But, since it is so widely used, replacing it overnight won’t be possible. Gradually, we’ll have to look for better outlets. For now, there are various movements and global organizations which ensure that palm oil plantation is happening ethically. Many chocolate making companies have included these certifications in their branding strategies making them a reliable brand in the eye of the general public with meaningful corporate social responsibility.