UK Edition
Iceland faces Christmas advert hypocrisy accusations after it emerges they are selling palm oil own-brand products despite promise to remove them
Iceland has faced accusations about hypocrisy after it emerged that the low-cost supermarket was still selling own-brand products containing palm oil, despite a high-profile campaign against it.
The supermarket's controversial Christmas advert, which was not allowed to run on television due to being produced by a political organisation, Greenpeace, railed against the use of palm oil, and Iceland vowed to stop using it in own-brand products.
The company promised: "The Iceland no palm oil pledge is that by the end of 2018, 100 per cent of the supermarket's own label food lines will contain no palm oil, reducing demand for palm oil by more than 500 tonnes per year."
However, an investigation by the BBC found that the store still sells 28 own-brand products with palm oil or fat, as well as more than 600 from other brands.
One of these appeared to be a new product, hot cross buns, which would not have been sold in stores before Christmas.
Although Iceland justified the amount of products by explaining that many were frozen so the stock had not run out yet, palm oil was found in non-frozen perishable goods such as fairy cakes, hot cross buns and jam tarts.
One product contained a label saying that it was "new", suggesting it was not from old stock.
The supermarket insisted that it had "fulfilled" its promise and no longer made own-brand products containing palm oil.
It added that stocks of own-brand foods which contain palm oil will be depleted in a few weeks and therefore not found in stores.
Customers tweeted their disappointment at the company, with one writing: "You promised to eliminate palm oil from your own brand products by the end of 2018. Why, then, are you still selling products containing palm oil?"
Another said: "Well, this is a shambles given their hugely popular Christmas campaign. Proving once again how big businesses plays on the inherent good in people for marketing gain - rather than because they actually give a hoot."
And another wrote: "What was the point of the #orangutan advert if you're still selling products that contain unethical #palmoil?"
The company said in response: "If there is fresh food on our website that is labelled as still containing palm oil, this is a website issue and our team are working quickly to resolve."