Zoos call for palm oil labelling

NEW ZEALAND – Major zoos in New Zealand are joining their Australian counterparts in calling for the clear labelling of palm oil in food products.

Auckland Zoo, Hamilton Zoo, Wellington Zoo and Orana Wildlife Park have joined the initiative, spearheaded by activist group Unmask Palm Oil, asking patrons to send postcards to New Zealand Food Safety Minister Jo Goodhew to show their support.

Unmask Palm Oil founder Ben Dowdle said palm oil was estimated to be in about half of products available in supermarkets, and was only currently required to be labelled as “vegetable oil” in Australia and New Zealand.

“Every New Zealander should be able to choose what’s in their food,” he said. “Clear labelling is the best step forward.”

Palm oil is controversial due to its environmental impact – its production is linked to deforestation, which Unmask Palm Oil says results in the deaths of up to 1000 orangutans in South-East Asia each year.

Food Standards Australia and New Zealand has previously rejected an application for its mandatory labelling.

The New Zealand campaign follows on from a long-running initiative of Zoos Victoria to have palm oil clearly labelled in Australian products.

“We have worked on the palm oil issue for the last seven years,” Zoos Victoria general manager of communications Jacquie O’Brien told the ABC, adding that she was thrilled to see New Zealand’s zoos on board.

“It’s really important because this is really about the consumer’s right to know what is in their food.

“How they use that information is up to them. Whether they have environmental values or health values – what we’re asking is to give people that right.”

She said polling conducted this year by Zoos Victoria in Australia and New Zealand showed 84 per cent of Australians supported palm oil labelling, along with 92 per cent of New Zealanders. The research included 1125 New Zealanders and 1003 Australians.

So far, 50,000 people have signed Zoos Victoria’s petition for more transparent food labelling.

- ABC