The European Food Standards Authority (EFSA) in May last year had cautioned that contaminants found in edible palm oil are cancerous, and many supermarkets in Italy are now boycotting the hazelnut-chocolate spread Nutella, which contains palm oil, as a precautionary measure.
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The EFSA has said that even moderate consumption of the contaminants in palm oil could pose a health risk to children. The organisation also added that since no definitive data on the issue is available yet, any amount of the contaminants in the human body could be unsafe.
"There is sufficient evidence that glycidol is genotoxic and carcinogenic, therefore the Contam panel did not set a safe level for GE," Dr Helle Knutsen, chair of Contam, the EFSA panel that investigated palm oil had said in May.
However, the maker of Nutella, Ferrero, has hit back saying that its hazelnut spread does not cause cancer. Palm oil is used in various food products of popular brands including Ben & Jerry's and Cadbury, however Nutella seems to be the only firm which has come under fire.
Ferrero has now launched an advertising campaign in response to the claims, reassuring its customers that they have nothing to worry about and the product is completely safe for consumption.
Ferrero said that it uses palm oil in Nutella to maintain the quality of the product and it has nothing to do with cutting costs. The food giant said palm oil gives Nutella spread its smooth texture which can not be attained through any other oil.
"Making Nutella without palm oil would produce an inferior substitute for the real product, it would be a step backward," Ferrero's purchasing manager Vincenzo Tapella told Reuters.
According to calculations found by Reuters, other substitute oils can be used in the product made from sunflowers or rapeseed, however, using these oils would raise the production cost of the popular product by almost $22 million.
