Experts: Nutella causes cancer, Ferrero responds

Nutella producer Ferrero is fighting back against the results of a European Food Safety Authority study that found palm oil - one of Nutella''s ingredients - to be carcinogenic, Reuters reports.

The palm oil industry is worth an estimated USD 44 billion and is under severe pressure as a result of this study linking palm oil to cancer. Ferrero, the producer of Nutella, has come out publicly in defence of an ingredient that some other companies in Italy are already turning their backs on. Ferrero has launched a marketing campaign to convince the public that Nutella is a perfectly safe food. It is vital for the company that consumers do not reject the spread, as its sales represent around a fifth of its total revenue.

Ferrero, the producer of Nutella, is fighting the effects of the results of the European Food Safety Authority study.

Palm oil in Nutella is used to make the spread smooth and to extend its shelf life, according to Reuters. "Producing Nutella without palm oil would lead to lower quality, it would be a step backwards," Vincenzo Tapella, Ferrero''s sales director, told Reuters. In Italy, a campaign in defence of Nutella has been underway for three months and has been strongly criticised by consumer rights campaigners and some politicians.

If Ferrero were to decide to use a different fat under pressure, this would also have an impact on costs, as palm oil is one of the cheapest vegetable oils. Ferrero pays around 800 dollars for a tonne of this type of oil, according to Reuters, while for sunflower oil it would have to pay 845 dollars. Ferrero uses around 185 000 tonnes of palm oil a year.

A more potent carcinogen than other vegetable oils

As is well known, the European Food Safety Authority announced back in May that palm oil is a more potent carcinogen than other vegetable oils when processed at temperatures above 200 degrees Celsius.

The Agency has not recommended that people stop consuming palm oil, regardless of the research. They indicated that further research would be needed. Moreover, the Agency does not even have the mandate to make such recommendations.

Ferrero: We process it at lower temperatures

The Nutella producer insists that it uses an industrial process to heat palm oil to temperatures lower than 200 degrees, aided by higher pressure.

"This process takes longer and is 20 percent more expensive than treating the oil at high temperatures," Ferrero told Reuters. "The palm oil we use is safe because it is freshly pressed and processed at controlled temperatures," assures Vincenzo Tapella in the advertising campaign.

Source: Žurnal24.si