Notes on culture
There has been a polarizing discourse concerning palm oil in Italy for several years. Many Italian brands have changed their recipes and stopped using palm oil and this change was normally always prominently advertised on the packaging. One of the most surprising exceptions is the brand Ferrero which still uses palm oil in many of its products including the exceptionally popular Nutella. On Nutella’s official website, the company dedicated an entire page to their use of palm oil and states that they are very careful to use only 100% certified and sustainable palm oil that is entirely traceable. Many Italians still decided to boycott Ferrero, but the vast majority still purchased their products. For instance, when the Nutella biscuits were first released in Italian supermarkets, they were flying off the shelves for weeks.
However, in late 2022 there have been some new controversies surrounding the use of palm oil in Nutella. One of Ferrero’s main suppliers of palm oil is the Sime Darby plantation in Malaysia. A recent investigation which came to fruition in the spring of 2022 provided serious allegations of forced labour in the Sime Darby plantation. Therefore, Ferrero decided to discontinue supplies of palm oil from Sime Darby for the time being. It will be interesting to see how Ferrero will respond and if they will ever stop using palm oil. Nutella still remains incredibly popular worldwide but the environmental and societal impact of the product may need to be subject to further scrutiny.