I've received a response from Tesco concerning labelling and this is their reply:
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my previous email.
I appreciate that labelling the products which contain Palm Oil would be very beneficial to you and certainly help you in making your choices as to which products you can buy. Regrettably, this is not something we have any plans for at present.
However I can see from your email that you are finding it easier to purchase products from other retailers as they have the information that you need. I will be sure to pass on your further comments to our Head Office to let them know that the lack of information is causing you to shop elsewhere and this is something which will be looked at when planning future labelling reviews.
I would like to thank you again for taking the time to respond and if you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me again.
I have written to them again asking if my Tesco own brand hair mousse contains palm oil as I've run out and the ingredients are confusing - if I were buying this from the Co-Op's own brand, I could be sure it was palm oil free because of their honest labelling policy.
Additionally, I have read this article on Nature Watch (warning: website contains some upsetting photographs of orangutans in distress) and so, whilst I was writing to Tesco, have asked if they are adding palm oil to their diesel. Our car is diesel so I'll have to find out where my husband fills up and see if they are adding palm oil to their diesel.
There have been replies about toothpaste but I am having to write back for clarification on some points so will report on toothpaste when I've got conclusive points to make. At present though it's not looking good and as toothpaste is something I would be very loath to be without, I think I may fail to find an alternative but I'll keep you posted!
Monday, 17 August 2009
Friday, 7 August 2009
My first loaf
Here it is then, my very first loaf made with flour from the Kirton Lindsey windmill. I was so proud of it ... til I cut it. It was all "doughey" inside, like it wasn't cooked all the way through so although it looks nice, it was 'orrible to eat! Far too heavy :-(Typical me, I started big with a 2lb loaf. I think I'll get a smaller tin tomorrow when I'm in Cambridge and have a go at getting smaller ones right first. I don't think I cooked it for long enough. When I set the timer, I think I set it for the smaller one (recipe gives 3 sizes) and by the time I realised, I couldn't remember what I'd set it at and it looked done so I took it out.
I got a written response from Kingsmill in reply to my letter. They say they DID respond to my earlier e-mail and attached a copy ... but unfortunately, they failed to attach the copy e-mail!
Monday, 3 August 2009
Today - toothpaste
I am on the trail of palm oil free toothpaste today. I have found a shop called Animal Aid Shop and the page I have linked to has some toothpaste on it. I wrote to them last week and they tell me that they are very careful to buy products which do not contain palm oil wherever possible; they stock the Little Satsuma soaps, candles and palm-oil free fudge. They say their chocolates are fine, but some toiletries may contain palm oil.
They haven't specifically stated that the toothpaste is palm oil free but the ingredients are: Aqua, Glycerine (Veg), Creta praeparata, Xanthan gum, Commiphora myrrha, Asorbic acid, D-limolene, (from essential oils), Natural flavour oils. They further state that their toothpaste does not contain Sodium lauryl sulphate, fluorides or Parabens. So I can't find any of the usual suspects in there but I have today discovered on Wikipedia that Glycerine is derived from vegetable oil so I may have to add that one to the list. Before I clarify with Animal Aid, I've written to Colgate, Aquafresh and GlaxoSmithKline (re: Macleans) to see if any of their toothpastes contain palm oil or palm oil derivatives. If any of these are OK, then I won't need to switch anyway.
I've had a very late response from Tesco, I wrote a follow up e-mail to them on 17 June complaining about how labelling was making it very difficult for me to avoid palm oil and suggesting that they could work with the WWF as they're doing a lot of research on their palm oil scorecard. As Tesco already have a database of all the products they sell in their store, it wouldn't be that much more work to add a field for palm oil so people could consult it on-line.
They thank me for writing and apologise for the delay in replying. They acknowledge my difficulty but say they have no plans to introduce a list of free from Palm Oil products.
Tesco have confirmed that two of their own brand products I specifically asked about (Tesco Baby Lotion and the Tesco Finest Greek Olive spread) do not contain palm oil. They offer to query further products if I write again. I was really hoping they might consider some kind of honest labelling policy like the Co-Op which I find really helpful and gives me confidence when buying Co-Op own brand products. (I've therefore written to them to suggest it).
They say that they've fully logged my concerns and they feel that the work they are putting in to bring sustainable ingredients to the market place will stand them in good stead for the scorecard process. I hope the WWF penalise misleading "vegetable oil" labelling of their products when preparing their scorecard.
They haven't specifically stated that the toothpaste is palm oil free but the ingredients are: Aqua, Glycerine (Veg), Creta praeparata, Xanthan gum, Commiphora myrrha, Asorbic acid, D-limolene, (from essential oils), Natural flavour oils. They further state that their toothpaste does not contain Sodium lauryl sulphate, fluorides or Parabens. So I can't find any of the usual suspects in there but I have today discovered on Wikipedia that Glycerine is derived from vegetable oil so I may have to add that one to the list. Before I clarify with Animal Aid, I've written to Colgate, Aquafresh and GlaxoSmithKline (re: Macleans) to see if any of their toothpastes contain palm oil or palm oil derivatives. If any of these are OK, then I won't need to switch anyway.
I've had a very late response from Tesco, I wrote a follow up e-mail to them on 17 June complaining about how labelling was making it very difficult for me to avoid palm oil and suggesting that they could work with the WWF as they're doing a lot of research on their palm oil scorecard. As Tesco already have a database of all the products they sell in their store, it wouldn't be that much more work to add a field for palm oil so people could consult it on-line.
They thank me for writing and apologise for the delay in replying. They acknowledge my difficulty but say they have no plans to introduce a list of free from Palm Oil products.
Tesco have confirmed that two of their own brand products I specifically asked about (Tesco Baby Lotion and the Tesco Finest Greek Olive spread) do not contain palm oil. They offer to query further products if I write again. I was really hoping they might consider some kind of honest labelling policy like the Co-Op which I find really helpful and gives me confidence when buying Co-Op own brand products. (I've therefore written to them to suggest it).
They say that they've fully logged my concerns and they feel that the work they are putting in to bring sustainable ingredients to the market place will stand them in good stead for the scorecard process. I hope the WWF penalise misleading "vegetable oil" labelling of their products when preparing their scorecard.
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Vegetable stock problem solved and more flour
I have heard back from Jardox and they have confirmed that Vecon does not contain palm oil or its derivatives so I have found my replacement for Swiss Marigold Bouillon vegetable stock. I made some more of the carrot and ginger soup with lime yesterday and it tastes every bit as good so I'm sticking with this product in the future.
My husband, Geoff, came home with some more breadmaking flour yesterday. The local Co-Op close to where he works has a local products section and this has been milled at Mount Pleasant Windmill, which is located in Lincolnshire a bit further North than Ellis windmill in Lincoln which we visited last Sunday. The Mount Pleasant flour, like the Ellis windmill flour is untreated and unbleached but you can get it by mail order via http://www.trueloafbakery.co.uk/. The flour from Ellis Windmill is only available when they have some bagged up and when we went, I was lucky to get the last but one bag.
It'll probably be Sunday or next week before I finally get round to making my first loaf; as it's getting close to the end of the week, I need to concentrate on getting stock made for my stall on Saturday.
My husband, Geoff, came home with some more breadmaking flour yesterday. The local Co-Op close to where he works has a local products section and this has been milled at Mount Pleasant Windmill, which is located in Lincolnshire a bit further North than Ellis windmill in Lincoln which we visited last Sunday. The Mount Pleasant flour, like the Ellis windmill flour is untreated and unbleached but you can get it by mail order via http://www.trueloafbakery.co.uk/. The flour from Ellis Windmill is only available when they have some bagged up and when we went, I was lucky to get the last but one bag.
It'll probably be Sunday or next week before I finally get round to making my first loaf; as it's getting close to the end of the week, I need to concentrate on getting stock made for my stall on Saturday.
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Photograph
Isn't this a lovely photograph of a baby orangutan? (He still has better hair than me!)The Orangutan Foundation have kindly given me permission to use Freddie's photograph in conjunction with my efforts to raise funds for them on the charity page of my Sooz jewels website.
I am sending the £50 I was going to pay to a picture library to the Orangutan Foundation instead.
I have been a bit remiss on reporting on my progress lately, I've not been totally idle on the palm oil front but some of the letters I've been meaning to write did not get written. I have been making some important decisions concerning my business which have got in the way a bit. (To be announced on Sooz Jewels shortly).
Anyway, the letters to Warburton and Kingsmill have now been written and will go off today. Also, I purchased a jar of Vecon concentrated vegetable stock. It is made by Jardox Health. The list of ingredients look like they're palm oil free but I've e-mailed today for an unequivocal statement concerning palm oil and their products so hopefully I should hear back soon so my chilled soup for lunches can be palm oil free.
My husband and I had a trip out to Ellis Windmill in Lincoln on Sunday afternoon. They mill their own wholemeal flour there which I remembered from a trip there many years ago. It is the only surviving and working windmill out of a total of 9 that used to be in Lincoln. The guy who mills the flour also showed us around the mill and I recommend it for a fascinating hour. They're open Saturday and Sunday afternoons only. Admission is free though donations are welcome.
However, from what the miller told me, the dough produced by their flour isn't the most elastic that's available and I may find kneading it for 10 minutes feels like 20! Sounds like I haven't made the best choice of flour for my first loaf but hey ho, I'll give it a go and report back, Tesco delivered some dried quick acting yeast which is recommended in my book so I have no excuse not to make any now!
Thursday, 16 July 2009
More about bread
I have heard from Hovis about why they use small quantities of palm oil in their loaves. Apparently they justify it by saying that it's a good replacement for animal fat (ie lard) which used to be used by bakers. Sunflower/rapeseed oil etc is too liquid it needs to be a hard fat to stop too many bubbles bursting at a critical moment during baking. If the bubbles burst, it gives a texture to the bread that is too open. (Their answer is much longer and very technical!)
Still waiting for responses from Kingsmill and Warburton, I will have to follow up my enquiries through their website contact form with a snail mail letter expressing how disapointed I am with them.
I've now got a book on breadmaking now (ordered that one from Amazon), it's supposed to be the definitive guide to breadmaking and how odd that they don't mention the necessity for hard fat instead of oil; all their recipes use sunflower oil.
But the big discovery of the last few days on the bread front has been palm oil free bread from the Co-Op. Their 2 part baked baguettes which you finish baking yourself uses rapeseed oil and their truly irresistable ciabatta uses extra virgin olive oil. It makes a great bread to eat with the chilled carrot, ginger and lime soup, plus I've also made a big roll with ham, tomato and chutney yesterday which was lovely. The texture of the ciabatta is indeed open but that didn't detract from it for me.
I'm still working on the stock problem so the soup, whilst very very nice, is unacceptable to me once the Swiss Marigold Vegetable Bouillon runs out. I can't seem to find out on-line who makes Vecon so I'm going to have to look at the label again next time I'm shopping and get the manufacturer then.
Still waiting for responses from Kingsmill and Warburton, I will have to follow up my enquiries through their website contact form with a snail mail letter expressing how disapointed I am with them.
I've now got a book on breadmaking now (ordered that one from Amazon), it's supposed to be the definitive guide to breadmaking and how odd that they don't mention the necessity for hard fat instead of oil; all their recipes use sunflower oil.
But the big discovery of the last few days on the bread front has been palm oil free bread from the Co-Op. Their 2 part baked baguettes which you finish baking yourself uses rapeseed oil and their truly irresistable ciabatta uses extra virgin olive oil. It makes a great bread to eat with the chilled carrot, ginger and lime soup, plus I've also made a big roll with ham, tomato and chutney yesterday which was lovely. The texture of the ciabatta is indeed open but that didn't detract from it for me.
I'm still working on the stock problem so the soup, whilst very very nice, is unacceptable to me once the Swiss Marigold Vegetable Bouillon runs out. I can't seem to find out on-line who makes Vecon so I'm going to have to look at the label again next time I'm shopping and get the manufacturer then.
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Thumbs up for Australia!
I picked up a jar of Vecon at the weekend, I didn't buy it because I couldn't tell from the ingredients list if it contains palm oil or not, but I'm hopeful it doesn't. I've used this in the past; it's thick black gooey stuff like marmite or bovril which you dilute for stock. I'll write to them to find out if its palm oil free.
I've had a response from Marigold about their Swiss Vegetable Bouillon, they aren't planning to switch to other oil for their stock powder, they say that they ensure employ Proforest, who are experts in auditing plantations, to ensure that their palm oil is ethically sourced and the Swiss makers are also members of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil. They also give an explanation of why the can't use anything but palm oil in their product.
I think they'll have to look out though because I have found an Australian manufacturer, Massel, whose product uses olive oil not palm oil. They tell me they hope to have a distributor in the UK by the end of the year. I've written back to Marigold informing them that their competition is on it's way.
The Australian consumer is so far ahead of us when it comes to awareness of palm oil. They have websites that tell them what products to be palm oil free. Also, I read today on Nature Alert (a blog I follow) that an Australian zoo is refusing to stock Cadbury products as they are adding palm oil to their chocolate. Warning:The Nature Alert blogspot is very informative but it has upsetting pictures of orangutans in a bad way before they were rescued so don't click on the link if you're easily upset.
I've had a response from Marigold about their Swiss Vegetable Bouillon, they aren't planning to switch to other oil for their stock powder, they say that they ensure employ Proforest, who are experts in auditing plantations, to ensure that their palm oil is ethically sourced and the Swiss makers are also members of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil. They also give an explanation of why the can't use anything but palm oil in their product.
I think they'll have to look out though because I have found an Australian manufacturer, Massel, whose product uses olive oil not palm oil. They tell me they hope to have a distributor in the UK by the end of the year. I've written back to Marigold informing them that their competition is on it's way.
The Australian consumer is so far ahead of us when it comes to awareness of palm oil. They have websites that tell them what products to be palm oil free. Also, I read today on Nature Alert (a blog I follow) that an Australian zoo is refusing to stock Cadbury products as they are adding palm oil to their chocolate. Warning:The Nature Alert blogspot is very informative but it has upsetting pictures of orangutans in a bad way before they were rescued so don't click on the link if you're easily upset.
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