Ferrero is launching a new seduction operation this Sunday to restore the controversial image of Nutella, insisting on the “quality” of its 7 ingredients, including palm oil. Here are his arguments.
“Let’s talk about quality, we are not going to beat around the bush”. The slogan of the new Nutella campaign controversial. To restore its image, the brand is focusing its communication on its “7 quality ingredients” and its “sustainable commitments”. Very controversial for several years for its harmful effects on health (risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases) and the massive deforestation caused by the cultivation of palm oil, it now plays the card of transparency by communicating on the origin of its ingredients.
The composition of Nutella differs according to the country, in particular to respect the different laws concerning the ingredients. In France, the famous flavored spread is composed of around 50% sugar, 20% palm oil, 13% hazelnuts, 7.4% low-fat cocoa powder, 6.6% skimmed milk. powder, whey (whey), emulsifier: soy lecithin, flavoring.
“GMO-free” sugar
The composition of Nutella differs according to the country, in particular to respect the different laws concerning the ingredients. In France, the famous scented spread is made up of around 50% sugar, “mainly sucrose”, specifies the brand. “In Europe, our beet sugar supply is exclusively from European producers, while cane sugar comes from other countries of the world, mainly Brazil, India, Mexico and Australia. We buy only non-GMO sugar “.
The sugar used in Nutella marketed in France is extracted from beets from mainly French plantations. To attest to this, the brand is broadcasting a video shot in beet camps.
Ferrero puts the package on palm oil
Nutella uses palm oil “exclusively traceable and sustainable”, insists Ferreo. “Our palm oil is 100% certified RSPO of the segregated type, which corresponds to the most demanding level of certification since it is the only one to ensure traceability from the plantations to our factories. The RSPO certification obtained by Ferrero has also recognized by Richard Holland, Director of WWF’s Market Transformation Initiative “. Through this campaign, the group therefore persists and signs on palm oil, a cause of deforestation and a risk factor for cancer and cardiovascular diseases in the event of overconsumption.
In terms of agricultural practice
“At Nutella, with the help of our partners, institutions and NGOs, we make it a point of honor to select the best ingredients while respecting our commitments in terms of sustainability, both socially and environmentally”, indicates the mark in his campaign.
In terms of agricultural practice, the brand evokes the launch programs called “Ferrero Farming Values” (FFV), “dedicated to the supply of our main raw materials. A specific FFV program is set up for each of these raw materials, matched to specific objectives and focused on three pillars: the development of dedicated projects and partnerships, adoption of standards and certifications and institutional and collective commitments “.
What impact on health?
100 grams of Nutella is equivalent to 530 kcal. In May 2016, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) included Nutella on its list of carcinogenic products. As Professor Irène Margaritis, head of the nutritional risk assessment at ANSES, explains to the Parisian, “this type of product is a calorie bomb with, unlike jam or butter, a nutritional value. almost zero. For the sugar, it’s a disaster. It cannot be seen. If you put the same amount of sugar in your coffee, you would be scared “.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have also recognized the risk of cancer from excessive consumption of palm oil. But present in many food and cosmetic products, it is an integral part of our consumption.
What impact on the environment?
According to the Nicolas Hulot Foundation, palm oil is responsible for “90% of deforestation in Malaysia” and the destruction “of a third of Borneo’s primary forest over the past twenty years”. When she was Minister of Ecology, Ségolène Royal had started a showdown against the Italian industrialist to make consumers aware of massive deforestation and encourage them to stop consuming Nutella.
Each year, Ferrero buys 185,000 tonnes “certified sustainable”. “We only buy 0.3% of world production,” the group had defended to Reuters. Faced with the decline in sales and the bad reputation of Nutella, the industrialist had assured to have “made numerous commitments concerning its palm oil supply” and to ensure the traceability of its raw materials. However, it is unthinkable to replace it in the Nutella recipe. The industrialist defends tooth and nail his star ingredient. So “quality” for the palate, yes. “Quality” for health or the environment, no.
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