DuPont Nutrition & Health Primary Emulsifier Facility to Source Only Certified Sustainable Palm Oil

05 Nov 2014 --- DuPont Nutrition & Health today announced changes in its emulsifiers business that it believes will raise the sustainability bar for companies across the global food industry. All palm oil sourced by the DuPont facility in Grindsted, Denmark, where the company manufactures the majority of its emulsifier products, will be CSPO-certified (Certified Sustainable Palm Oil) as of January 1, 2015.

In addition, through the Grindsted site, the business will now offer RSPO-certified sustainable emulsifiers from a Mass Balance (MB) source as standard.

As a leading producer of emulsifiers, DuPont Nutrition & Health has led the industry in the move toward sustainable emulsifiers since helping to establish the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2004. The company also was the first in the industry to offer RSPO-certified sustainable emulsifiers from a Mass Balance (MB) source in 2009, and in 2011 brought the first products from a Segregated (SG) supply chain to the market.

“We have, for some years, held firm to our commitment to sourcing only certified palm oil by 2015, and these changes represent significant progress toward that goal,” said Annette Hansen, director of sustainability for DuPont Nutrition & Health. “Grindsted is our largest emulsifier production facility and ships to an international customer base, so the sustainability benefit accruing for our customers is expected to have a positive global effect.”

Oil palm trees are the world’s largest source of vegetable oil and have become indispensable to economic development and the global food supply. However, rain forests and peat lands in palm oil producing countries are under pressure – particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia – and in response, many of the world’s largest retailers and food companies have pledged to convert entirely to sustainable palm oil by 2015.

“DuPont Nutrition & Health is committed to leading toward what we all agree is right and good for the industry,” Hansen said. “We are collaborating with our customers to help them meet their sustainability goals, and momentum is building across the food industry in alignment with our stated aspiration for a more sustainable business model. In addition to palm oil-based products, our DuPont™ Danisco® range also includes lecithin as well as non-palm emulsifiers based on soy bean, sunflower, rapeseed and other raw material sources, all delivering outstanding functionality.”