We don't use palm oil in our chocolate. But here's something you might not expect us to say: palm oil itself isn't inherently evil.
It has become one of the most criticised ingredients in the food industry, and with good reason. Unsustainable oil palm expansion has been linked to deforestation, wildlife habitat loss, greenhouse gas emissions and exploitation.
But the solution isn't as simple as telling everyone to boycott the crop.
What actually is palm oil?
Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of oil palm trees. It's widely used in foods, cosmetics, soaps and other products because it is versatile, productive and relatively inexpensive to produce.
The biggest distinction is between the plant and how land is managed to grow it. Harvesting fruit from an existing responsibly managed plantation is not the same as clearing a rainforest to establish a new one.
Why has palm oil caused so much environmental damage?
Expanding plantations into tropical forests and peatlands can destroy habitats, threaten species including orangutans and elephants, and release substantial greenhouse gas emissions. Poor practices can also harm workers and local communities. Those are serious issues that deserve scrutiny.
And even plantations established without recent deforestation can have biodiversity and land-management impacts. 'Deforestation-free' is important, but it isn't the only question to ask.
Would replacing all palm oil solve the problem?
Not necessarily. Oil palms are exceptionally productive per hectare. WWF estimates that producing equivalent amounts of some alternative oils may need four to ten times more land, depending on the crop. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has warned that blanket replacement could shift biodiversity pressure to different regions rather than eliminate it.
That doesn't mean palm oil gets a free pass. It means the location and method of production matter, whichever vegetable oil is used.
Can palm oil be more sustainable?
Yes. Better farming and sourcing aim to prevent forest and peatland conversion, protect important habitats, uphold workers' rights, and trace where oil comes from.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) sets certification standards for producers and supply chains. Those standards are useful tools, but certification isn't a perfect guarantee: credible auditing, traceability and enforcement still matter.
Then why do we avoid palm oil at Salahuddin?
Because our chocolate philosophy starts with real cocoa butter.
Cocoa butter is a defining ingredient of chocolate's melt and texture. We want our bars to be made with cocoa butter rather than replacing it with cheaper vegetable fats. That's a choice about our recipes and the experience we want to create.
It isn't a claim that all sustainably sourced palm oil is bad, or that cocoa cultivation is environmentally perfect. Cocoa has deforestation and farmer-livelihood issues of its own, and those deserve just as much attention.
The more useful question
Instead of automatically labelling a food ethical because it is 'palm-oil-free', ask what is actually in it, where the ingredients came from, how they were produced and what evidence backs up the claims.
We will continue to make palm-oil-free chocolate. But we're far more interested in honest sourcing conversations than in demonising a single crop.
The villain isn't a fruit. The real problems are deforestation, exploitation and irresponsible production.
