About half of all packaged goods found in grocery stores contain palm oil, because this product is versatile, grows efficiently for better yields and has low production costs. However, palm oil comes at a high cost to the environment, and its production is a leading cause of deforestation around the world. 

As a potential alternative, researchers at Queen Margaret University (QMU) in Edinburgh, UK have developed PALM-ALT, which they found to not only be better for the environment but also a healthier substitute.

PALM-ALT is made from a byproduct of linseed (or flaxseed) production along with natural fiber and rapeseed oil. According to the researchers, it can be made locally at a global scale, including in the UK and within the EU. In response to a question from EcoWatch regarding PALM-ALT’s cost-competitiveness with palm oil, a PALM-ALT spokesperson said they are “unable to confirm costs until manufacturing partners have been arranged.”

PALM-ALT was made to substitute palm oil in baked goods, like cookies and cakes, without impacting characteristics like texture or flavor. It has a consistency similar to mayonnaise. The resulting substitute has 88% less saturated fat and 25% less fat overall compared to palm oil, according to the researchers.

The palm oil substitute is also about 70% better for the environment (based on carbon emissions) compared to palm oil, as the BBC reported.

Oil palm trees grow only in tropical areas, which has led producers to destroy native, tropical forests to build oil palm plantations. This has a number of negative impacts. It removes native plants, displaces wildlife and removes an effective carbon sink, the World Wildlife Fund explained. Tropical forests are typically burned to make way for the oil palm plantations, contributing to air pollution. Palm oil mills also produce liquid waste that pollutes soil, surface water and groundwater.

“Palm can only be harvested in rainforest areas of the globe, thousands of miles away from many of the countries that use the product,” Catriona Liddle, head of the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation at Queen Margaret University, said in a statement. “Current production methods leading to deforestation of tropical rainforests in Malaysia and Indonesia have led to the destruction of animals’ natural habitat, and high greenhouse gas emissions linked to its global transport. It is therefore essential to develop an alternative product, which works well for the food industry and helps reduce the world’s overreliance on palm.”

The researchers have patented PALM-ALT and its production process. As for next steps, in additional to finding manufacturing partners they are looking for food companies and other partners that want to replace palm oil with PALM-ALT in their products.

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