So why is there an ad on TV with an Orangutan playing drums?

A confectionery company in Australia has just released an ad showing a female Orangutan having a wonderful time playing the drums in a forest. At first you find yourself wondering what is going on, then the voice over announces that this company is going 100 percent palm oil free.

So what is palm oil, where does it come from, why is it used and most importantly why is this company making an ad about being 100 percent palm oil free?

Palm oil is harvested from the fruit of the Africa oil palm tree and like coconut oil is a vegetable oil with a high level of saturated fats.

This makes it solid at room temperature, which gives it very special characteristics in a large variety foods.

Due to being a solid at room temperature, it gives a moist mouth feel  and  has a neutral taste, both of which make it very attractive to consumers.

Due to the high level of saturated fats it does not need to undergo the partial hydrogenation process that other oils need to have to achieve the same effect in the mouth. This significantly reduces the potential amount of trans fatty acids in the foods containing it. Which is a significant health benefit, although consumption of high levels of saturated fats should also be avoided.

It has excellent oxidation properties so does not turn rancid, depending upon the product containing it, there is an elimination or reduction of preservatives.

It is a ingredient that has  a low financial cost for the benefits it gives to a variety of foods.

Currently in Australia there is no specific mandatory requirement for the labelling of Palm Oil on food products, even though there has been applications for this. It was denied as the application was not based on food legislation but environmental issues. Manufacturers who could have used it in their product and choose not to will often label the food as Palm oil free.

Although financially it is a cheap ingredient, it can have a very high social and environmental cost, depending upon where it is sourced from.

The beloved Orangutan’s preferred habitat is also the same places where these palm trees grow and traditionally this is where the harvests have occurred. This has significantly contributed to this magnificent creature  now being on the endangered list.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is a group comprised of manufacturers who have made a decision to only use Palm oil which has been sources from eco-friendly areas.

With this oil being such a useful and cost effective ingredient, it is not likely to be leaving our ingredient lists anytime soon, but manufacturers now have a choice , they can source it from eco-friendly area, which will not impact on the Orangutan, or they can chose, like the confectionery company, to go Palm Oil free.

So this company has made a social decision to replace palm oil with other permitted ingredients to achieve the same texture and food safety and are advertising this through this new ad, we have seen lately.

This decision  will mean that there is highly likelihood to have been an increased cost of raw materials, but the company has decided that it is prepared to wear that cost in the hope that  by being more environmentally aware, and letting the public know, that there will be an increase in sales to offset this increase.

So the ad with the drum playing female Orangutan is an example of how organisations now need to not only consider financial costs but social and environmental costs as well in their decision making.