◊ By Rutaksha Rawat

Visit ORGANIC SHOP by Pure & Eco India

Palm oil is ubiquitously used in the food industry owing to its versatility and cheap cost of production (cheaper than that of any other vegetable oil or animal fat).

But there is no denying that several studies have linked the consumption of palm oil to increased ischaemic heart disease mortality, raised low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Curiously, opposing studies show no negative effects from palm oil consumption and, in fact, project it to be quite the health-giving ingredient.

What is sinister is that many of the studies demonstrating positive health associations with palm oil consumption have been discovered to have been authored by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (ref. study ‘The Palm Oil Industry and Noncommunicable Diseases’).

You may be aware that Malaysia is the second largest producer of palm oil in the world. Therefore, the credibility of these commissioned studies is highly questionable, if not downright laughable.

For Indian consumers, the concern is personal, because India is the largest importer of palm oil in the world, purchasing approx 9 million tonnes of the oil annually. Therefore, the need to find foods without palm oil is more dire.

Thankfully, a few organic and vegan food brands have committed to abstaining from palm oil usage in their food products notwithstanding the higher costs of production.

Following is a list of organic and vegan food brands in India that do not use palm oil in ANY of their food products:

Organic Food Brand: Elworld Organics

Company: Elworld Agro & Organic Foods Pvt. Ltd, Noida

Product Range: Organic foods

What they use instead of Palm Oil: Organic Mustard oil/Organic Sunflower oil/Organic Flaxseed oil/Organic Ghee.

Website: www.elworldorganic.com

Organic Food Brand: Altitude Everydays

Company: Altitude Organic and Natural Products Pvt Ltd, New Delhi

Product Range: Organic foods

What they use instead of Palm Oil: Organic Sunflower oil/ Organic Olive oil/ Organic Mustard oil

Website: www.thealtitudestore.com

Organic Food Brand: Suryan Organic

Company: Suryan Organic Pvt Ltd, Ahmedabad

Product Range: Organic foods

What they use instead of Palm Oil: Organic Sunflower oil

Websites: www.sose.in; www.suryanorganic.com

Organic Food Brand: Natureland Organics

Company: Natureland Organics Foods Pvt Ltd, Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan

Product Range: Organic foods

What they use instead of Palm Oil: Organic Groundnut oil

Buy Natureland Organics products here.

Organic Food Brand: Wellbe Foods

Company: Sowparnika Organic World Retail Private Limited, Bengaluru

Product Range: Organic foods

What they use instead of Palm Oil: Organic Sunflower oil/Organic Coconut oil/Organic Groundnut oil. All Wellbe oils are cold-pressed. The seeds or nuts are crushed through a wooden press without the use of any heat in order to retain the oil’s purity and nutrient content.

Websites: www.wellbefoods.com; www.theorganicworld.com

Organic Food Brand: Induz Organic

Company: Aryavarta Organics Pvt Ltd, Jaipur

Product Range: Organic foods

What they use instead of Palm Oil: Organic Mustard oil/Organic Groundnut oil/Organic Sunflower oil/ Organic Ghee

Website: www.induzorganic.com

Organic Food Brand: Pascati

Company: Pascati Foods India Ltd, Mumbai

Product Range: Organic chocolates

What they use instead of Palm Oil: Pure Organic Cacao Butter, which is pressed from organic certified cacao beans.

Website: www.pascati.com

Organic Food Brands: Chef Serves, Just Organik (sister brands)

Company: Treta Agro (P) Ltd, New Delhi

Product Range: Ready-to-eat and Ready-to-cook organic gravies, organic pilaf, etc

What they use instead of Palm Oil: Organic vegetable oils

Website: www.justorganik.com

Organic Food Brand: Down To Earth

Company: Morarka Organic Foods Ltd, Jaipur

Product Range: Organic foods

What they use instead of Palm Oil: Organic vegetable oils

Website: www.downtoearthorganicfood.com

Organic Food Brand: Jaivik Life

Company: Jaiviklife Essentials Pvt Ltd, Ahmedabad

Product Range: Organic potato chips, organic banana chips. They also sell organic certified staples, A2 milk ghee and A2 milk ice creams

What they use instead of Palm Oil: Organic Sunflower oil

Contact Details: www.facebook.com/Jaiviklife; www.jaiviklife.in (website under maintenance currently)

Organic Food Brand: Slurrp Farm

Company: Wholsum Foods Pvt Ltd, New Delhi

Product Range: Organic foods and snacks for children

What they use instead of Palm Oil: Organic vegetable oil

Website: www.slurrpfarm.com

Vegan Food Brand: Live Yum

Product Range: Vegan cheese

Company: Live Yum Foods, Bengaluru

What they use instead of Palm Oil: They use Coconut oil to make their vegan cheeses.

Website: www.liveyumfoods.com

Vegan Brand: Plant Power

Product Range: Vegan snacks, superfoods and supplements

Company: Kaarya Naturals, Mumbai

What they use instead of Palm Oil: Organic vegetable oil

Website: www.plantpower.fit

NOTE:

If you represent an organic food or vegan food brand that does not using palm oil in any of its food products, you can be part of this list. Simply write in at [email protected] confirming that you do not use palm oil, while also sharing the names of oil(s) you use instead.

Further, if you are a brand looking to make your palm-free stance visible to consumers, please be aware that Indian companies can now apply for palm oil-free certification.