UK food giant Sainsbury's has said that the Ukraine conflict is affecting a number of their supply chains, including sunflower and olive oil. The supply of other cooking oils, including rapeseed and vegetable oil, are also being interrupted, with the company saying that they are working closely with suppliers to ensure that customers can still purchase these products.
In products where sunflower oil is a main ingredient, Sainsbury's will be substituting this with alternatives and making customers aware of these changes in store and online. Below are a number of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that Sainsbury's have answered to keep you in the loop.
Is this change unsafe?
"No. Customer safety is very important to us and we are in close contact with DEFRA and the FSA to ensure we comply with all safety guidelines.
"Any allergens will continue to be clearly labelled on the packaging."
Is this a permanent update to your ranges?
"It's intended to be temporary. We are closely monitoring the situation."
When does this come into effect?
"This will come into effect immediately."
Will there be a price increase?
"We wouldn't want to speculate, but we continue to invest significantly in offering our customers the best possible value."
Will you be using palm oil?
"We may use palm oil as an alternative to sunflower oil in some of our products. We can reassure customers that all of our palm oil is sustainably sourced."
Why can't you tell me what you have replaced sunflower oil with in XX products?
"We have a wide range of products which contain sunflower oil. Right now we're focused on adding additional information to products which contain sunflower oil as a main ingredient.
"Where a small amount is used we will do our best to update this information but in the meantime, our priority has to be safety and focusing on accurate labelling for products which contain allergens."
