Beware of palm oil and saturated fats used industrially for food production. These ingredients may contain substances that are potentially harmful to health. EFSA confirms this in an extensive dossier dedicated to vegetable oils and food contaminants.
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Beware of palm oil and ai saturated fats used industrially for food production. These ingredients may contain substances that are potentially harmful to the health. EFSA confirms this in an extensive dossier dedicated to vegetable oils and food contaminants.
EFSA assessed the public health risks from the following substances: glycidyl esters of fatty acids (GE), 3-monochloropropanediol (3-MCPD), and 2-monochloropropanediol (2-MCPD) and their fatty acid esters. Substances are formed during food processing, especially when vegetable oils are refined at high temperatures (about 200 ° C). The reference does not only go toPalm oil but also to other industrial ingredients that contain fat, such as margarines.
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We know that palm oil used industrially is refined at high temperatures and therefore there is a risk that in this ingredient substances that are not beneficial to our body develop.
In addition, according to EFSA, palm oil is very rich in saturated fats and although it is a vegetable oil from the point of view of the substances present in it and the impact on health, it should be considered on a par with a fat of origin. animal.
In recent months, the palm oil issue has been much debated. We talk about it from an environmental point of view but also with regard to health. Palm oil production it is not sustainable because it involves the destruction of priceless forests present above all in Indonesia, a practice that serves to make room for plantations and that puts the ecosystem, the local populations and the animals that inhabit it at risk with fires and intensive cultivation practices.
As for the health aspect, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità a few weeks ago had already highlighted the problem ofhigh saturated fat content of palm oil as an ingredient included in a diet in which fats - mainly derived from products of animal origin such as meat and cheeses - are normally already very present.
The ISS had recommended a moderate consumption of saturated fats especially for the weaker segment of the population, made up of children and the elderly, and now EFSA's opinion seems to confirm this point of view. The paradoxical thing, however, is that palm oil is contained in most of the formula milks given to infants who, if not breastfed, therefore begin to take it from the first days of life.
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La dott.ssa Helle Knutsen, president of the CONTAM group, said: “There is sufficient evidence that the glycidol is genotoxic and carcinogenic, therefore the CONTAM group has not established a safety level for GE ".
EFSA also writes that i glycidyl esters of fatty acids (GE) are a potential health problem for all the lowest and average exposed age groups, as well as for consumers of all ages who are highly exposed.
Palm oil is found in many packaged foods and is mostly found in spreads, biscuits and other baked goods such as crackers and breadsticks. However, many companies have recently decided to replace it with alternatives that have a lower content of saturated fats, such as sunflower oil and olive oil. However, we must always pay attention to the entire list of ingredients in food products and read the labels carefully.
Finally, we can only suggest theself in the kitchen to avoid desired ingredients as much as possible.
Read here the opinion of EFSA on palm oil, margarine and other vegetable oils. Download the complete dossier here.
Marta Albè
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