Unmask Palm Oil

Unmask Palm Oil is the Australasian campaign for the mandatory labelling of palm oil. We aim to bring our labelling legislation up to the same standard as the United States, the European Union and Canada.

Palm oil is a widely used vegetable oil found in appoximately half of packaged foods. When not properly managed, palm oil plantations can cause tremendous social and environmental degradation leading to species loss, indigenous human rights abuses, carbon emissions and health issues.

Palm oil can, and in many cases, is produced without these negative impacts and is accredited as Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO). However due to Australasian labelling laws which allow for oils like palm oil to be labelled generically as just vegetable oil, it becomes impossible for consumers to even know if palm oil is in the product in the first place, let alone if it is certified as sustainable.

The change is not limited to palm oil, it would involve the specific labelling of all oils as is standard practice in nearly every other Western country resulting in not just ethical decision making but also more informed health decisions. This change would allow consumers to distinguish between oils in order to make better choices for their health.

This change will be decided upon by a Minister from each federal, state and territorial Government of Australia and New Zealand on November 25, 2016. If successful, the proposal will progress to the next stage of policy development before a final vote at a later date.

We work closely with companies, governments, not for profits, zoos and special interest groups to advocate for this change. We believe that information is power and with clear information on food labels, consumers will be able to demand more ethical and healthy products.