Chocolate could become more ethical and environmentally friendly in 2026 now that scientists in the United Kingdom have developed a potential alternative to palm oil.
Palm oil is a vegetable oil that is easy and cheap to produce but is known to be very harmful to the environment, destroying tropical forests and natural habitats. It is widely used in such foods as chocolate, candy, baked goods, chips, popcorn, ice cream, margarine, instant noodles, coffee creamers, breakfast cereals, mayonnaise, peanut butter and processed meats.
Palm oil is often used to make cosmetics such as lip balms and moisturizers and other products such as biofuels. Demand for this ingredient is set to increase by 40 percent in the next 10 years.
So scientists at Wales’ University of Aberystwyth, in collaboration with startup Sun Bear Biofuture, decided to develop a potential alternative. Using cutting-edge molecular biology and fermentation techniques, the scientists discovered a way they can ferment yeasts to produce an oil that has similar properties to palm oil but without its damaging effects.
A woman looks at chocolate while shopping in a store. Many brands of chocolate use palm oil, which has harmful effects on the environment, but U.K. scientists have developed a potential alternative.
A woman looks at chocolate while shopping in a store. Many brands of chocolate use palm oil, which has harmful effects on the environment, but U.K. scientists have developed a potential alternative.
JackF / Say-Cheese/iStock / Getty Images Plus / Canva
“We’re so pleased to be able to contribute to this important project,” said David Warren-Walker of the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth, in a statement.
He described the opportunity to work on this research with Sun Bear as “a privilege,” adding: “The opportunity to collaborate with a start-up company to rapidly develop precision fermentation alternatives is vital to ensure social, environmental and economic sustainability.
“I really hope that our work will make a real contribution to speeding up the transition away from palm oil,” he said.
Ben Williams, a co-founder of Sun Bear, said in a statement: “Though palm oil is low in cost to produce, the drawback of growing it is that, globally, the crop is responsible for 500 million tons of CO2 released annually due to the destruction of rainforests to grow palm trees.
“This deforestation has a huge impact on the displacement of rare rainforest habitats and species, such as our company’s namesake, the sun bear,” he said.
Williams said this project aimed to divert manufacturing processing away from our current reliance on palm oil in order to protect endangered species.
“Our alternative to palm oil has a lower carbon footprint and a reduced reliance on land,” he said. “We are currently trialing different fermentation processes to perfect product development.”
The scientists said they were working to scale up the production of this alternative oil, hoping to target industry as soon as 2026.
This project was partially backed by funding from the U.K. government as well as an innovation award scheme by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
Nick Bassett, associate director for innovation at BBSRC, said in a statement: “By harnessing cutting-edge biotechnologies to develop palm oil alternatives, we are advancing scientific frontiers and delivering on our commitment to environmental stewardship and economic sustainability.”
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