Food Reformulation Due to Sunflower Oil Shortage Raises Concerns Over Nutritional Profile Changes

The over three-month old Ukraine-Russia war have driven food formulators to find substitute for sunflower oil, according to FoodNavigator report on June 08.  Coconut oil and palm oil have been largely used as alternative oils though concerns have been raised the reformulated foods may have become unhealthier because the oils are high in saturated fats.  

In Sweden for example, crisp maker OLW has started replacing some of the sunflower oil in its production with palm oil.  Likewise, in the United Kingdom, frozen retailer Iceland Foods has been doing the same.  Coconut oil, because of its higher saturated fat content, thus highly resistant to oxidation at high heat, is considered suitable for high-heat cooking methods. 

French consumer group Que Choisir fears of unintended consequence of substitution which is altering of the nutrition profile of the food products and thus potential changes on labeling and Nutri-Score ratings.  In France, Que Choisir had noted palm oil replacing sunflower oil in Old El Paso’s taco shell. Carrefour’s own-brand raspberry tiramisu now contains coconut oil in lieu of sunflower oil.  Casino’s own-brand tiramisu also replaced sunflower oil with coconut oil.  The result of these replacements was a one-step reduction in Nutri-Score ratings.  

In the UK, nutritionists are concerned about the amount of saturated fats in consumer diets.  Presently, saturated fats account for 12.8% of food energy in British adults, which is beyond the recommended 11%.  Majority of vegetable oil available at supermarkets are rapeseed oil and sunflower oil which are low in saturated fats, and substituting with coconut oil and palm oil could have ramifications, inferred the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF). 

While dietary guidelines worldwide largely suggest consumers to reduce or eliminate saturated fats from their diets, not all researchers though are backing such advice.  At a recent webinar hosted by think tank Competence, researchers suggested saturated fat may not increase cardiovascular disease risk.  Francesco Visioli, professor of human nutrition at Italy’s University of Padova, for example, agreed that there is a link between saturated fatty acid consumption and increased blood cholesterol, but stressed that there is ‘no evidence’ that eating food containing saturated fat increases risk of coronary heart disease, stroke or cancer.