Is palm oil dangerous to health?

It is rich in saturated fat, about 50% according to EUFIC, a level close to butter. These fats raise cholesterol when eaten in excess, and WHO recommends staying below 10% of energy intake. It is therefore not a "toxic" ingredient, but a marker of a fatty, processed product. What matters is the total amount consumed, not this oil alone.

What are glycidyl esters and 3-MCPD?

They are contaminants formed when vegetable oils are refined at high temperature, around 200 °C. EFSA finds higher levels in palm oil than in other oils. Glycidyl esters are considered a concern because glycidol is genotoxic and carcinogenic. Producers have reduced their levels, and the European Union has set maximum levels in Regulation (EU) 2023/915.

How do you spot palm oil on a label?

Since the INCO Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, refined oils grouped under "vegetable oils" must be followed by the list of specific origins, for example "vegetable oils (palm, rapeseed)". So look for the words palm or palm kernel. A vague mention with no origin is not compliant.

Are "palm oil free" products better?

Not necessarily. The replacement may be just as rich in saturated fat, such as butter or coconut. On the environmental side, the IUCN notes that replacing palm can worsen biodiversity loss, because other oilseeds require far more land per litre of oil. The full composition of the product must be considered.

Palm oil: real dangers to health and the planet?

A widespread oil, a topic that mixes everything together

Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the oil palm. It provides about35%of the vegetable oil consumed worldwide, according to the IUCN, and it is found in a large share of processed products. Around it three distinct questions get tangled: its nutritional composition, the contaminants formed during its refining, and its impact on tropical forests.

Confusing them prevents a proper answer. A product can pose a nutritional problem without an environmental issue, and vice versa. This article separates them in order to judge in a nuanced way, without demonizing palm oil on its own, nor presenting it as harmless.

Nutrition: rich in saturated fat

Palm oil is solid at room temperature. It contains about50%saturated fatty acids, particularly palmitic acid, according to the EUFIC summary. That is a level comparable to butter, and far higher than in liquid oils such as rapeseed or olive, which contain much less.

Saturated fats raise blood cholesterol when eaten in excess. Official benchmarks apply to the diet as a whole, not to any single oil:

WHO: limit saturated fatty acids to less than 10% of total energy intake, from age 2.
ANSES: stay below 12% of energy intake for all saturated fatty acids combined, and below 8% for the group including palmitic acid, according to EUFIC, which reports ANSES's 2011 update.

The message is simple: it is not palm oil on its own that shapes a diet, it is thetotal amountof saturated fat provided by all foods. A spoonful of palm oil in a recipe does not carry the same weight as a diet centred on biscuits, pastries and ready meals. To compare two spreads for bread, our articleButter vs margarinesets out the same logic.

Refining contaminants: glycidyl esters and 3-MCPD

To be neutral in taste and colour, palm oil is refined at high temperature, around 200 °C. This treatment forms process contaminants, present in many refined vegetable oils, but at higher levels in palm oil, according to EFSA.

Glycidyl esters: EFSA considers them a public health concern, because the glycidol they derive from is genotoxic and carcinogenic. No risk-free dose has been set. For infants fed only infant formula, the exposure estimated in 2016 could reach ten times the level considered of low concern.
3-MCPD and its esters: EFSA set a tolerable daily intake of 0.8 µg per kilo of body weight in 2016, raised to 2.0 µg in 2017 after a new calculation method. It considers exposure safe for most consumers, with a possible concern for young heavy consumers.

Producers had already changed their processes: in its 2016 opinion, EFSA observed that glycidyl ester levels in palm oil had roughlyhalvedbetween 2010 and 2015. Regulation (EU) 2023/915 also sets maximum levels for glycidyl esters and 3-MCPD in vegetable oils and fats, with lower limits for foods intended for babies.

This does not mean that every product containing palm oil is dangerous: these limits exist precisely to control exposure. But the subject concerns mainlyyoung childrenand very heavy consumers of processed products, and it applies to other refined oils too.

The environment: the real sore point

The major issue with palm oil is probably environmental. According to the IUCN, the expansion of the oil palm is a significant driver of deforestation in some tropical regions. In Borneo, at least half of the deforestation between 2005 and 2015 was linked to its development. At least 193 species on the Red List are affected by its production.

But the answer is not simply to replace the oil with another. The palm produces up tonine times more oil per hectarethan other major oilseed crops, with less than 10% of land devoted to vegetable oils. The IUCN warns that replacing it could worsen biodiversity loss, because more land would have to be cultivated. The real issue is thereforewhere and howpalm is produced.

RSPO certification: progress, but limited

TheRSPO(Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) aims for more responsible production. A study published in PNAS on Indonesian plantations between 2001 and 2015 concludes that certification reduced deforestation by abouta thirdwithin certified plantations, but that the absolute gain remains modest, on the order of 21 km². It has no detectable effect on peatland deforestation.

The authors also point to a bias: certified plantations already contained far less forest before certification. An RSPO label is therefore a useful signal, not a "zero deforestation" guarantee.

Labelling: how to spot it

Since the application of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, known as INCO, the oil used must be identified in the ingredient list. Annex VII allows refined oils to be grouped under the wording "vegetable oils", but this wording must be immediately followed by the list of specific plant origins, for example "vegetable oils (palm, rapeseed)". The same principle applies to fats refined under the name "vegetable fats".

In other words, "vegetable fats" or "vegetable oils" with no indication of origin are not permitted. So look for the wordspalmorpalm kernelin the list. See our article onultra-processed foodsto read an ingredient list.

"Palm oil free": a marketing claim to take with a pinch of salt

Many brands display "palm oil free". The information is accurate, but it does not say what replaces it. If the substitute is another solid fat, such as butter, the saturated fat content can remain high. If it is rapeseed or sunflower, the nutritional profile may be better, but more land is needed to produce the same quantity of oil, which shifts the pressure onto ecosystems rather than removing it, according to the IUCN.

A "palm oil free" spread is still a sweet, fatty spread. The right reflex is to look at thefull compositionand the nutrition table, not the claim alone.

Where is it found?

EUFIC indicates that the food industry accounts for about 80% of palm oil uses, for cooking oils, margarines, bakery fats and processed products. It is found in particular in:

chocolate spreads and chocolate products,
industrial biscuits, cakes and pastries,
crisps and certain fried ready meals,
margarines and bakery fats.

The same product families are also sweet, salty and rich in fat in general: it is this combination that matters.

What to remember

Distinguish health from environment: these are two different subjects, with different answers.
Health: palm oil is rich in saturated fat, like butter. What matters is the total amount of sweet, fatty and processed products, not one isolated ingredient.
Contaminants: monitored by EFSA and regulated by the European Union, they mainly concern refined oils in general and very young children.
Environment: this is the most serious point. The RSPO label helps, without solving everything.

In Yumiq, the product page shows the number of additives detected (harmless, to watch, high risk). The Yumiq-Score penalises controversial additives assessed by EFSA and ANSES, and the Yumiq star requires the absence of high-risk additives. For environmental impact, theGreen-Score, graded from A to E, is a guide: seeEnvironmental impact of foods: products with a Green-Score A+.

Palm oil: real dangers?