To be a bit fecked off with Organix

[catgirl1976]

I bought DH some Organix Goodies Gingerbread biscuits the other day.

He doesn't normally have stuff like that but we were going on a long train journey so I got some treaty, snacky bits that I thought might keep him distracted.

I didn't expect them to be healthy or anything, being biscuits after all, but they did say 'no junk' and 'organic' etc so I (stupidly) bought into the packaging and the marketing message etc so was really surprised to see they are full of Palm Oil, which doesn't strike me as being 'good' or sitting with the wholesome, 'no junk' spin they put on stuff.

They make a lot out of their ingredients being sustainable and having minimal environmental impact etc but there is nothing on the website to suggest this palm oil is sustainably sourced.

I appreciate I am an idiot for allowing the branding to make me think they would be 'good' when obviously they are mass produced biscuits but I was still a bit annoyed and felt a bit duped.

[bonzo77]

YABU sadly you do need to read the packaging. Sugar and fat are sugar and fat, whatever the source. Why are you buying toddler snacks for your DH though?

[tethersend]

LTB

[NeoMaxiZoomDweebie]

Yanbu but lesson learned. Don't buy processed foods at all and then you can be safe in the knowledge your DC aren't eating crap. Innocent Fruit Smoothies are not innocent...and lots of other things marketed as healthy are not either.

The phsychology is simple...package it in green or brown....and stick an ear of wheat or a few fruit pictures on it and people think "Ah! That's a healthy choice."

When it's not.

[catgirl1976]

Ooops!

I bought them for DS :)

DH has a kindle and stuff to entertain himself on train journeys. I don't generally need to distract him with snacks

I knew they weren't healthy, I was just so annoyed that they make a big thing about being lovely to the environment but Palm Oil is such a Bad. Thing. and having read a bit about it I am trying to avoid.

I have learnt a lesson about reading labels and not being sucked in by friendly fonts and pretty packaging though :(

[NeoMaxiZoomDweebie]

bonzo lol! The thought of OPs DH needing to be distracted with some gingerbread men on the train!

[catgirl1976]

As I say, I knew they would be crap nutritionally, it was the environmental thing with the palm oil I felt duped over.

Lesson learned as you say though

[cees]

I hope your DH didn't get to hyper on you

[catgirl1976]

Am now snorting my tea at the thought of DH demanding another gingerbread man and then throwing himself on the floor, flailing and screaming when denied

[KittieCat]

That's crap. Palm oil is a terrible product when it isn't sourced ethically. I'm very surprised it's in Organix products, it doesn't seem to fit their ethos at all.

I am a serial label reader as I have 'Views' on all sorts of things like palm oil but this deffo reminds me I need to keep doing this and not be fooled by clever marketing.

YANBU.

[MordecaiAndRigby]

Next time just give him a noisy VTech toy to keep DH quiet and the rest of the carriage squirming in indignant, frothing fury.

[villagebird]

OMG how terrible. Is this thread for real. Im sorry but have you got nothing better to do.

[KittieCat]

This is a useful link about the horror that is the palm oil trade. It also has a list of palm oil free products:

www.ethicalconsumer.org/shoppingethically/palmoilfreelist.aspx

[MordecaiAndRigby]

Of course she has villagebird, doesn't mean she can't start this thread though.

[KittieCat]

villagebird the palm oil trade is v bad and a major cause of deforestation and therefore habitat loss for many species like orangutans.

Take a butcher's here:
www.saynotopalmoil.com/

It's a pretty important issue to be concerned about.

[catgirl1976]

I've got loads of stuff I should be doing villagebird. This is just more suited to my lazy arse.

I read about palm oil recently and it seemed really really bad so I have been trying not to buy products with it in. I was surprised a company that heavily markets itself as environmentally friendly and very green would use it as an ingredient.

I have started waaay more trivial threads than this I can assure you :)

[crashdoll]

I'm sure someone will come along and declare this a first world problem soon. :)

[catgirl1976]

I expect they will :)

Although it really, really isn't. Especially if you are a lovely orangutang. :)

[catgirl1976]

[http://www.organix.com/node/2815 ingredient list here]

[catgirl1976]

Link fail

here

[villagebird]

OK point taken ladies. I love nice quality food, local produced meat, fruit, veg etc etc. but if you knew what was in half the stuff we eat and worse still use on our bodies/hair etc you would have a hissy fit. If we looked at everything there would be no time left in the day for........ironing, washing, cleaning oh I sound boring now lol

[ClaireDeTamble]

Organix Palm Oil is ethically sourced from Columbia:

We use Palm Oil, usually in combination with another vegetable oil to provide the correct texture and quality of our foods. Due to the values of our ?No Junk Promise? we do not use any hydrogenated or trans fats in our recipes.

During product development we also have to consider potential allergens and process requirements when choosing our ingredients.

All the ingredients used at Organix undergo thorough investigations prior to use. This involves Organic integrity, traceability and reliability of supply as well any ethical or safety concerns.

The use of Palm Oil has been well documented recently in the media, especially the destruction of natural animal habitats to create palm oil plantations in some regions.

Throughout all the time of using palm oil at Organix we have only used palm oil from a trusted, family owned sustainable and organic source in Colombia. Palm oil is often implicated with destruction of orangutan habitats. Orangutans are from Asia, they are found in tropical rain forests in this region. We only source our palm oil from Colombia where orangutans are not native species in the wild.
Our palm oil supplier is a member of RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). www.rspo.org

This is the world?s leading organization working to sustainable and ethical values in palm oil production. Requirements include commitments to country laws, environmental responsibility, welfare of workers and new crop planting.

As an added reassurance, our specific grower has been using the same plantation since the 1970?s, on cattle rearing land. Therefore no deforestation has occurred to facilitate palm oil production for our supply.

We are very aware of the ethical issues surrounding palm oil and have a development programme in place to remove or reduce the levels of palm oil in our biscuits. Although we are confident in our choice of supply we understand the concerns that are raised.

We will continue to ensure all precautions are taken on our products and raw materials to provide the utmost reassurances.

www.organix.com/node/29322

[ClaireDeTamble]

Colombia the South American Country, not Columbia the North American state.

[catgirl1976]

I know village and I am usually shite at checking labels, and don't eat a lot of processed food but the palm oil stuff really upset me (burning orangutang picture :( ) and I thought "Oh I will try to avoid that" and then found it in a product that sells itself on being environmentally friendly.

I was a bit and did feel duped somehow.

You don't sound boring I don't dare read my shampoo labels

[catgirl1976]

Well now I feel like a proper idiot.

I tried to find something on the website about where they got thier palm oil and couldn't.

I apologise to Organix and for wasting everyone elses time

Maybe I should go do some ironing

[RebeccaMumsnet]

Hi all,

Organix have been in touch and have asked us to post up a statement on their behalf.

Here it is:

"Hi, I?m Steph, the Marketing Director for Organix and I read through this thread with interest. It?s brilliant to see so many people caring so deeply about these issues as we do, and I?m relieved to see you found the right information about the Palm Oil.

"I wanted to comment on the thread to reassure you about our ?No Junk Promise? too. We at Organix are aware mums put trust in our ?Promise? and I want to comfort you that we put every single one of our recipes under our ?No Junk Promise? scrutiny. We do not use any hydrogenated or trans fats, and our recipes are made with 100% organic ingredients with no added salt, processed sugars, colours or flavours.

"We (and I) have a huge passion at Organix to ensure your little ones are fed the very best, to give them the best possible start in life, and help them develop a lifelong love of good food.

"If you still have concerns, or are simply looking for more reassurance, we would love to have a chat with you, just contact our customer care team on 0800 39 35 11.

"Thanks for commenting though ? we love getting feedback and we always want to hear what our customers have to say, good and bad."