Cadbury Animals Mini Biscuits, 139.3g

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For readers who prefer to avoid palm oil, below is a list of palm oil free biscuits. We’ve only included the companies that receive our best rating for palm oil or are entirely palm oil free, because we think it’s important to consider what the company is doing as a whole. Some other brands and most supermarkets also have palm oil free options. Palm oil rating and biscuits Brand (and palm rating)

British Sugar not only processes all sugar beet, it controls seed sales and funds UK research on the crop. Island Bakery, Lazy Day, Doves Farm and Windmill Organics (owner of Amisa and Biona) also receive a best rating. Mrs Crimble’s ( Ecotone Group) – Vegan coconut macaroons, Oaty bakes with chocolate, vegan choc macaroons. Overall, the average amount of sugar in biscuits has dropped by a tiny percentage (under 2%, from 2015 baseline to 2019) and campaign group Action on Sugar argue that the voluntary scheme isn’t working. They continue to push for compulsory sugar reduction. Human rights overlooked in sugar production

Sugar beet is grown in many parts of Europe including the UK. You might think, then, that it would provide an easy ethical alternative to cane sugar. Think again. Sugar production uses large amounts of land, and sugar companies have been linked to violent forced evictions of subsistence farmers across the world. Working conditions are poor, with low pay, long hours, and hazardous health conditions such as extreme heat. What are the options if you wish to either avoid palm oil, or only buy biscuits with certified palm oil? Amisa* ( Windmill Organics) – All crispbreads and spelt crispbreads (apart from cheese and pumpkin), dark chocolate corn cakes and rice cakes. (All palm oil free, but owned by Windmill, which uses palm oil.)

Palm oil is widely used in many processed foods, including biscuits. Its mass production has been very damaging environmentally and been linked to workers’ and human rights abuses. Most other brands including supermarket own-brand biscuits scored a middle rating. However, Aldi and Spar received a worst. The expandable tabs below shows the vegan biscuits made by the brands and supermarkets we have rated. It includes biscuits that are labelled as vegan by the brand or the shops which sell them as well as many which are not. The challenges remain as large as they have ever been. Poverty is still a daily reality for most smallholder cocoa farmers. Child labour is still rife throughout West Africa. Old-growth forests are still being cut down for cocoa production.”In the UK, all sugar beet grown by farmers is processed by British Sugar, owner of the Silver Spoon brand and a subsidiary of Associated British Foods which also owns Ryvita. In January 2021, British Sugar, together with the National Farmers’ Union, successfully lobbied the government for authorisation to use a pesticide containing the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam which has been banned by the EU for all outdoor use since 2018 because of its negative environmental impacts, particularly the harm it does to bees. The sugar beet crop was under threat from a potentially devastating disease called virus yellows.

Wheat Flour, Sugar, Vegetable Oils (Palm, Rapeseed), Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Skimmed Milk Powder, Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder 1.4 %, Whey Permeate (from Milk), Milk Fat, Raising Agents (Sodium Carbonates, Diphosphates, Ammonium Carbonates), Salt, Emulsifiers (E442, E476), Flavourings Those that are not explicitly vegan often carry a warning that they may contain milk or egg. This is because they are made in factories where non-vegan items are used and there is a risk of cross-contamination. They are therefore not suitable for people with allergies to non-vegan items. Just eight companies received our best rating: Mr Organic, Lazy Day Foods, Island Bakery, Duchy Originals, John Lewis (Waitrose), Co-op, M&S and Ferrero (but not Burton’s which make most of its brands). The first four are small companies that provide products we considered to be environmental alternatives because they were vegan or organic. This doesn't mean they are without environmental criticisms though. Tax Avoidance But with biscuits commonly containing palm oil, cocoa and sugar – ingredients often associated with human rights abuses and environmental destruction – how ethical is what you’re munching? We take a look at these three ingredients and how companies are sourcing them. The focus on public health often means that other ethical issues related to sugar are overlooked. As with cocoa, human rights abuses are widespread in sugar cane cultivation. The US Department of Labor reports likely child or forced labour in sugar cane production in 19 countries around the world, mainly in Asia and Latin America.Those that did not meet the threshold for a middle scored a worst rating. This includes Yildiz, which owns Pladis Foods, maker of McVitie’s, Jacob’s, Carr’s, and TUC. In 2020, only 40% of palm ingredients used for its consumer goods globally were RSPO-certified. Yildiz also owns two processing plants that refine palm oil, and despite the issues being known for more than 10 years, as a processor only 3% of its palm ingredients were RSPO-certified in 2020. Associated British Foods (Ryvita) also scored a worst rating.