The essential ingredient: palm oil

Did you know palm oil is the most consumed edible oil in the world? It is used in more food than you might think. But not only that, it can be used for much more than only food. Palm oil production is only growing because of the wide range of products that can be made with it. In this article, we’re going to discuss some palm oil products you probably have in your home.

Palm oil in food

So palm oil is used very often in the production of food. Sustainable palm oil is for example added in commercial pizza dough. It prevents the dough from sticking together and it enhances the texture of the dough. You can also find palm oil in a pack of instant noodles. And not just a little bit, but up to 20% of the weight of the pack is palm oil! Most commercial ice cream also contains the substance, because it makes the ice-cream smooth and creamy. Furthermore, since the US banned trans fats, palm oil has been a great substitute in margarine. It helps create a shiny appearance in chocolate as well and helps to keep it from melting. Packaged cookies are loaded with palm oil too. Here too, it is used as a substitute for hydrogenated oils. Other products with palm oil are packaged bread, Nutella, peanut butter, sweets and more.

Palm oil in non-edible products

Palm oil has made its way into many non-edible products too. Did you know that palm oil is used in lipstick? The oil holds color well and will keep the lipstick from melting. It makes the application smoother and has no taste, which makes it a perfect ingredient to make lipstick with. Most shampoos have palm oil in them as well. The palm oil in shampoos functions as a conditioning agent. Furthermore, it functions as a foaming agent in soaps. This is why you’ll find palm oil in detergent too. Speaking of soaps, it’s used in body wash quite a lot too. It has the ability to remove oil and dirt from the skin.

Shelter names for palm oil

You might be surprised by the amount of products that contain palm oil. This is probably because it never really says ‘palm oil’ on the ingredient list. The oil is often disguised behind many other ingredient names that make it hard to recognize that it has been used in the product and therefore it’s good to read it.