Palm oil itself is harmless and excessive intake is risky.

　　When it comes to palm oil, many citizens think that it is a cheap industrial raw material and is synonymous with unhealthy. Recently, the RSPO Roundtable Initiative for Sustainable Palm Oil launched an activity to promote the sustainable consumption of palm oil in Beijing, advocating citizens to buy certified sustainable palm oil products. So, what products will use palm oil in daily life? Is palm oil healthy?

　　More than 50% products in supermarkets contain palm oil.

　　Palm oil is a kind of vegetable oil, also known as palm oil, which is mainly produced in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia. It is extracted from palm fruit of oil palm trees and is usually used as edible oil and biodiesel. It is an important part of the world oil market. In 2004, palm oil surpassed soybean oil to become the first edible oil in the world.

　　Jiang Yun, representative of the RSPO Sustainable Palm Oil Roundtable Initiative in China, said that many citizens don’t know much about palm oil. In fact, more than 50% of the products in the supermarkets we often go to are palm oil or palm oil ingredients. It includes cereals, chocolates, ice cream and instant noodles that we eat every day, toiletries that we apply every day, shampoos, lotions, sunscreens, lipsticks and so on, all of which contain palm oil or palm oil.

　　On the whole, China is the second largest importer and the third largest consumer of palm oil in the world because it does not produce palm oil. Basically, the annual consumption of palm oil is about 6 million tons, and 75% of it is consumed in food and food industry.

　　Strong stability makes palm oil the first oil for fried food.

　　For a long time, the low price of palm oil has made many people habitually think that palm oil is a cheap industrial raw material, and firmly believe that cheap oil will definitely not be too good.

　　Jiang Yun, representative of the RSPO Sustainable Palm Oil Roundtable Initiative in China, also said that from the futures market, the second edible oil soybean oil in the past auction may be more expensive than palm oil, but the recent futures situation shows that the price of palm oil continues to rise, which is basically the same as soybean oil in terms of crude oil procurement. Now there is not much difference between palm oil and soybean oil. Therefore, the theory of cheap industrial raw materials is no longer valid at present.

　　At the same time, Ruan Guangfeng, director of the Science and Technology Department of Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center, said that judging whether a product is good or not depends not only on the price, but on its suitability. At present, palm oil is usually used in food production, especially in fried food, which is determined by its stability. Palm oil has many saturated fatty acids, strong heat resistance and good stability, and can be stable in high temperature environment such as frying, and has good use performance. Therefore, it is often used in the production of fried products.

　　High saturated fatty acid content is the biggest fear of palm oil.

　　In addition to its low price, citizens’ fear of palm oil mainly stems from its rich saturated fatty acids.

　　Ruan Guangfeng said that the biggest concern about palm oil is its high content of saturated fatty acids. Its saturated fatty acid content is basically above 60%, and the commercial (purified) saturated fat is above 80%, which can be said to be similar to fat (lard). Saturated fat is characterized by high freezing point and can be solid at room temperature. Current health studies believe that excessive intake of saturated fat will increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. For this reason, many countries’ health guidelines now suggest reducing the intake of saturated fat. For example, the World Health Organization, the latest dietary guidelines of the United States and the Reference Intake of Dietary Nutrients for China Residents (2013 Edition) all suggest that the intake of saturated fatty acids should be less than 10% (about 22g) of the total dietary energy. From an international perspective, reducing the intake of saturated fatty acids is the current international trend.

　　The health risks of oils and fats are common, so we can’t talk about risks without quantity.

　　Palm oil contains a lot of saturated fatty acids that can pose a threat to human health, so is it unhealthy?

　　Ruan Guangfeng said that we can’t talk about any risks without "quantity". The health risks of oils and fats are common. Not only palm oil, but also any oils and fats should not be taken in excess. Even olive oil is only relatively beneficial, and excessive intake is not conducive to human health. For palm oil, its strong stability makes it a good choice for many fried foods, but its rich saturated fatty acids will bring certain cardiovascular disease risks. But if you pay attention to a balanced diet and don’t eat too much, you don’t have to worry too much. Besides, if you really eat a lot of fried food, it is not a healthy eating habit in itself. Therefore, palm oil itself is harmless, and the key is to pay attention to a balanced diet.

　　■ Tips

　　The research and development of palm oil replacing new oils and fats is being carried out in academic circles.

　　From the health point of view, the oil industry should develop new oils to reduce the use of palm oil to adapt to the international trend of reducing saturation. Cambridge University has made a new type of oil with high oleic acid content, which is characterized by low saturated fat and high oleic acid content. The cooking effect such as frying is similar to palm oil. In China, the team led by Professor Wang Xingguo of Jiangnan University has also developed a new type of oil with high oleic acid. Research and development of new oils and fats will also become the overall goal of academic circles. In the future, there will be such healthy oils and fats listed. (Reporter Zhang Xiaoli Zhu Fengqi)