Cadbury Animals Mini Biscuits, 139.3g

Product Information

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 a cheap substitute for animal fats so the biscuits most likely to be palm oil free are the buttery ones like shortbread. 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. 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).

Hill’s Biscuits – Chocolate creams, fruit shortcake, shortie, ginger nuts, lemon cream, ginger rings, orange creams, digestive creams, bourbon creams, ginger fingers, oaties, fig rolls, nice, fruit shortcake, rich tea. British Sugar not only processes all sugar beet, it controls seed sales and funds UK research on the crop. 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. 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.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.

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.

Ethical and environmental rankings for 50 brands of biscuits.

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) Nairn’s is a medium-sized company using 100% RSPO segregated palm oil (which is a higher standard of certification) 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.) Mrs Crimble’s ( Ecotone Group) – Vegan coconut macaroons, Oaty bakes with chocolate, vegan choc macaroons.

Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Chocolate (23%) [Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Skimmed 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Powder, Cocoa Mass, Whey Powder (𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤), Vegetable Fats In Varying Proportions (Palm, Shea Fat, Sal Fat, Mango), Anhydrous 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Fat, Emulsifier: Lecithins (𝐒𝐨𝐲𝐚)], Palm Oil, Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Raising Agents: Sodium Carbonates, Ammonium Carbonates; Flavouring, Cocoa Powder, Salt, Emulsifier: Lecithins (𝐒𝐨𝐲𝐚). Lazy Day Foods* – All biscuits. (All biscuits are palm oil free, but company uses palm oil in some other products like tiffin and slices.) Yildiz is the owner of Pladis Foods (who own United Biscuits), whose brands include McVitie’s, Crawford’s, Jacob’s and Carr’s biscuits.

Place the cut out animal shapes onto a baking tray and place in the oven (by an adult helper), baking for 13-15 mins or until they are light golden brown. 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. 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.