Palm Oil

Palm Oil is a commonly used ingredient in many food and non-food products and is produced by a high yield crop that has lead to deforestation in rainforest areas of South East Asia, West Africa and South America. We have adopted the following policies and commitments in March 2010:

• Move to Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified sustainable palm oil by 2015 for all Woolworths private label products.
• On pack labelling of Palm Oil and derivatives (greater than 5% by weight) in all Woolworths private label products
• Applying to become the first Australian retail member of the RSPO

Woolworths is now a member of the RSPO. Our other actions will take time, on pack labelling will occur during scheduled reviews of packaging design, and currently only 4% of the palm oil produced is certified as sustainable.  

Furthermore with regards to our Hot Cross Buns we are working with our suppliers to address the use of Palm Oil as soon as is practical. We are committed to only using certified sustainable palm oil in the Hot Cross Buns we bake in store for Easter 2014.