Palm oil is used many things we eat and use every day. It is in food, beauty products, and in biofuel. However, producing palm oil leads to environmental damage because deforestation. A team of researchers in Scotland believe they have found an alternative to palm oil. Scientists Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh have created a wholly plant-based oil that is better the environment and our health. The university's new PALM-ALT product is 70 per cent better for the environment. This is because it is more sustainable and leads to less biodiversity loss. It is also healthier than palm oil, 80 per cent less saturated fat and 30 per cent fewer calories.
The researchers believe their work could change how things are made. Around half all the food and cosmetics we currently buy contain palm oil. The use palm oil is growing, so more trees have to be cut down tropical countries. PALM-ALT is made a by-product from the linseed flower and rapeseed oil. Researcher Catriona Liddle spoke to the BBC PALM-ALT. She called it the "holy grail" to replace palm oil. She found it does the same things palm oil does. She said: "We've put it some special sensory testing to see if a panel can tell the difference our product and traditional palm [oil], and they can't." She is now hoping businesses will start using it instead regular palm oil.
