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Palm oil is hard to avoid, appearing at least once in most families’ grocery trolleys. It’s in bread, soap, shampoo, biscuits and rusks, pizza bases, Nutella, peanut butter, ready meals… and definitely also in baby formula.
But it’s been receiving very bad press recently. Is palm oil in baby formula bad for your baby? Or is its widespread use by humans bad for the environment?
Whether you’re breastfeeding but also using formula or have switched to only using a formula, it’s important to understand key ingredients. With so much controversy surrounding palm oil formula, it’s good to arm yourself with the facts.
Why the controversy about palm oil in infant formula?
Palm oil comes from the African oil palm tree (Latin name E. guineensis), but is now grown in many other parts of the world as its use has become widespread in processed foods. According to the UK’s Independent newspaper, oil palm trees are cut down once they grow too high to reach the fruit. This destroys the habitat of animals, including orangutans, rhinos, elephants and tigers. Turning rainforests into plantations also causes carbon gas emissions, which contributes to global warming. Iceland’s (UK grocery chain) Christmas advert highlighting the loss of habitat for animals because of humans’ rapacious appetite for palm oil was banned at the end of last year (but you can still see it on YouTube). In South Africa, journalist Nechama Brodie felt so strongly about the issue, she crowdsourced and compiled a list of palm oil and palm oil-free South African products. Check it out here. Companies are increasingly responding to consumers’ demands that their products are both safe for humans to use and keep the planet safer, too. You can make sure you buy products that use sustainably sourced palm oil. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ: What’s in my infant’s formula?Palm oil in formula
There are very few formulas without palm oil. Some baby formula manufacturers are willing to discuss their sustainability initiatives, though. For instance, Aspen Alula says “Aspen Nutritionals do use Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The RSPO has developed a set of environmental and social criteria which companies must comply with.” “Nestlé applies appropriate sourcing principles in relation to palm oil and is fully committed to achieving No-deforestation [status] by 2020 by using a combination of tools, including satellite monitoring, workers’ helplines, smallholders’ inclusion projects and landscape initiatives,” says Nestlé’s Anne-Marié de Beer. Novalac’s commitments are explained as follows: “Non-profit organisation such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) have developed and implemented Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) production standards. These standards include criteria for the protection of primary forests, respect for the rights of local populations, farmers, etc. The purchase of CSPO palm oil reflects the support of this initiative. In 2016, 24% of the palm oil used for Novalac formulas is RSPO certified.” Their aim is to reach 100% of all Novalac formulas containing RSPO palm oil in the years to come.What is palm oil, actually?
“Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the palm fruit (and a rich source of long-chain fatty acids). Don’t confuse this with palm kernel oil (the seed of the palm tree), which is a rich source of short-chain fatty acids,” explains Nestlé South Africa’s medical and scientific affairs manager, Anne-Marié de Beer.THE FAT PROVIDED BY INFANT FORMULA IS NORMALLY A BLEND OF VARIOUS FATS TO ENSURE IT MIRRORS THE FATTY ACID PROFILE OF BREAST MILKAspen Alula says, “Palm olein is the liquid fraction derived from the fractionation of palm oil.” Palm oil is semi-solid, but refining it separates it into palm stearin and palm olein. Palm olein remains liquid at room temperature, and is heat-resistant and doesn’t break down easily. Palm olein is what is likely to be used in your baby’s formula if it uses palm products (most do). Be aware that “palm olein is not the only fat in infant formula. In fact, the fat provided by infant formula is normally a blend of various fats to ensure it mirrors the fatty acid profile of breast milk,” says De Beer.
Fat is good, so is palm oil bad for babies?
Babies need fat. Fats make up about 50% of their nutritional intake, so that’s how formulas have been formulated as well. And all formulas try to mimic the fatty acid composition of breast milk as best they can. For this reason, they use fats from a range of sources: palm olein oil, soy oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil and others. “Palm fruit is a source of palmitic acid,” according to Aspen Alula. “As breast milk provides us with the best example of what the ideal infant formula should contain, it is important to consider that breast milk contains a number of fatty acids, one of which is palmitic acid, and often at levels of more than 22% of the total fatty acid content,” says De Beer. She adds that palmitic acid plays a very important role in the health and development of newborn infants:- Mobilisation of energy deposited in adipose tissue
- Membrane fluidity and permeability
- Lipid metabolism
- Sensitivity to oxidative reactions
- Palmitic acid has been identified as a particularly important agent for the synthesis of lung surfactant and may play a key role in the optimal development of the respiratory function.
Palm olein baby formula is safe for your baby
Is palm olein bad for babies? No, it’s completely safe for your infant to consume palm oil as it’s rich in saturated fat and mimics breast milk. It’s only if you’re concerned about calcium absorption that you should seek out other options. Palm oil in formula milk may be less effective for your baby’s development in some cases where calcium isn’t absorbed properly, but it isn’t unsafe and won’t cause any adverse reactions.Which formula uses which oil?
It’s important to know which oils are used in which formulas so that you know what your baby is consuming. You can then choose to stay away from palm olein oil in formula if you so wish.South African formula brands’ newborn formulations
For your convenience, here is a list of South African newborn formula brands (in alphabetical order) with their fat sources summarised. If your formula tin only lists “linoleic acid”, that is usually sourced from rapeseed (canola) or soy oil.- Abbott Similac Total Comfort 1 and Advanced contain “high oleic sunflower oil, soy oil, coconut oil” in what the company describes on its tins as an “easy-to-digest vegetable fat blend”. This is the only palm oil-free product we could find.
- Aspen Alula Infacare has the following: “vegetable oils (palm fruit, soybean, coconut or palm kernel or palm kernel olein)”.
- Aspen Alula S-26 Infant (0-6) keeps its options wide open. Under its fat sources, it lists: “vegetable oils (palm fruit, coconut or palm kernel or palm kernel olefin, soybean, canola or high oleic sunflower oil seed)”.
- Nestle’s Nan lists its ingredients: “vegetable oil (palm fruit, rapeseed, coconut, sunflower seed, mortierella alpina: arachidonic acid (ARA).”
- Novalac’s ingredient list is as follows: “vegetable oils (palm fruit, soy, coconut, tocopherol)”.
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Reading Time: 7 minutesPalm oil is hard to avoid, appearing at least once in most families’ grocery trolleys. It’s in bread, soap, shampoo, biscuits and …
