Nutella pushes back against cancer-scare study
The makers of Nutella aren’t sweet on a recent study that claims a key ingredient of their chocolatey hazelnut spread could cause cancer.
Ferrero, the Italian confectionery company that makes Nutella, slammed the European Food Safety Authority’s claims that palm oil — the second ingredient of the decadent spread — is more carcinogenic than other vegetable oils when it’s heated above 392 degrees Fahrenheit.
The agency’s report, released in May, caused ripples in the European food community and even led some to boycott the ingredient.
But Ferrero insists that palm oil is safe — and says that Nutella wouldn’t taste the same without it.
“Making Nutella without palm oil would produce an inferior substitute for the real product. It would be a step backward,” Vincenzo Tapella, Ferrero’s purchasing manager, told Reuters on Wednesday.
It would also be more expensive for Ferrero to switch to a different oil, as palm oil is the cheapest — costing about $800 a ton. Alternatives like sunflower oil and rapeseed oil cost $45 to $120 more.
Other food safety agencies including the World Health Organization and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization had similar findings about the contaminant in palm oil, known as GE, though neither recommended consumers stop eating it.
The European Commission is currently reviewing ESFA’s findings and plans to issue its recommendation by the end of 2017.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-ferrero-nutella-insight-idUSKBN14V0MK