UK retailer Sainsbury is to begin making its digestives and rich teas using rainforest-friendly certified sustainable palm oil.
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Sainsbury said on Monday (5 October) that it will be the first retailer to make the biscuits using sustainable palm oil certified by the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil), on a level “never before reached in the UK”.
Sainsbury first began using the palm oil last year for its basics fish fingers before rolling it out through the rest of the frozen fish range.
“Digestives and rich teas are among the biggest-selling biscuits in the country, which is why we have decided to make them the next target for our sustainable palm oil programme,” said Fiona Wheatley, Sainsbury’s sustainability manager. “By prioritising those products that use the greatest volume of palm oil, we positively influence the way the oil is grown and traded internationally.
She added: “We are firmly committed to the use of certified sustainable palm oil and we’re currently looking for further products in which we can use it. Sales of basics fish fingers have risen by over 90 per cent over the past year, and one of the reasons for this is that customers respond favourably to the sustainability of the product.”
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By GlobalDataSainsbury reported a slowdown in quarterly sales this morning due to weakening food inflation.
Like-for-like sales for the second quarter – excluding fuel and VAT sales tax – rose 5.4% in the 16 weeks to 3 October.
