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Cadbury Animals Mini Biscuits, 139.3g

£9.9£99Clearance
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About this deal

Ethical Consumer’s cocoa rating requires companies who use cocoa to demonstrate that all their suppliers are certified by one of two voluntary certification schemes: Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance (which includes UTZ). Both provide some financial and other benefits to producers who meet certain standards. This is significant because poverty and low cocoa prices have been identified as key factors in child labour. Fairtrade guarantees a minimum price to protect against low global market prices and also pays a premium which producers can invest in farm improvements and community projects. Rainforest Alliance does not guarantee a minimum price but recently introduced a premium, although it is only about half the size of that guaranteed by Fairtrade.

What are the options if you wish to either avoid palm oil, or only buy biscuits with certified palm oil? 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 AvoidancePalm oil is a cheap substitute for animal fats so the biscuits most likely to be palm oil free are the buttery ones like shortbread. 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. Most other brands including supermarket own-brand biscuits scored a middle rating. However, Aldi and Spar received a worst.

Discussions about sugar often focus on its impact on public health, and in particular on childhood obesity. A levy on soft drinks has been in place for five years in the UK and has resulted in significant reductions in the amount of sugar in drinks and in consumers shifting to drinks with less sugar. Despite this, the levy hasn’t been extended beyond drinks, and biscuits manufacturers are currently merely encouraged to reduce sugar, with a target of 20%.McVitie’s dominates the UK biscuits market with a quarter of market share and six of its biscuits in the top ten by sales. 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. Given its powerful position, some farmers have criticised British Sugar for not focusing research on the development of non-harmful alternatives to neonicotinoids and on the sustainable production of sugar beet more g enerally. In the end, thiamethoxam wasn’t used this year because the threat to the sugar beet crop was lower than expected. However, the issue hasn’t gone away. Rising temperatures caused by climate change mean that the aphids which carry the virus are more likely to survive the winter and the problem may occur again next year.

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. 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. Sugar made from beet is chemically identical to sugar made from cane, and the sweet stuff in your biscuits could come from either plant with no difference in the labelling. Island Bakery, Lazy Day, Doves Farm and Windmill Organics (owner of Amisa and Biona) also receive a best rating.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 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.)

Dublin 5.

Net Content

7 x 19.9g e

Storage

Store in a dry place. Some of the biscuit brands included in this guide are deliberately vegan and are made by fully vegan companies such as Mr Organic and Lazy Day Foods. But many of our old favourites are also vegan by chance.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)

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