Zinda AirWrap – Proud to be the UK’s only Palm Oil Free Wrap
“All wheat & whole wheat flour tortillas have palm oil because it’s like butter and helps in hydrogenation & oxidative stability of the tortilla, which leads to a long shelf life when combined with preservatives”. “The industry wants this & we cater to our customers who want 3-6 months of product life for their manufacturing”. “In fact, with one machine, we can produce 40,000 tortillas in an hour”.
Just some of the comments made by a tortilla company rep I happened to meet during my recent visit to The International Food & Drink Event (IFE) – a few weeks ago. Shocking – yes! Was I surprised – no! But I came away with a mixed bag of feelings both as a manufacturer & as a consumer.
It just helped me reaffirm why we questioned this as being “normal” in the first place. And that our innovation of the AirWrap was actually just a technique of going back to our basics to produce something that comes naturally to us in most Asian kitchens while making “rotis”- the only difference is we don’t see the necessity of adding a pantry load of preservatives and yet we’ve done it on a commercial scale.
It’s always been our mission to address a need in the food-to-go category – to create a product that is lower in carbohydrates, has no trans fats or hydrogenated oils, absolutely no preservatives, no palm oil and all hand-made. So when we say, it’s artisan (made by people not machines), we actually mean it.
Ingredients play a key role in the uniqueness of our AirWraps. It’s important to us that what we leave out is as important as what we add in. So we have NO PALM OIL or palm oil derivatives in our wraps. Not in the AirWrap base nor in the filling. And here’s why.
Many of you know the environmental issues behind using palm oil, mainly thanks to Iceland’s campaign over Christmas 2018. The production of palm oil means it is a huge global contributor to deforestation and loss of species in their natural habitat.
Vast areas of tropical forests have been cleared to make room for huge palm oil plantations. The clearing of these forests has all but destroyed critical habitat for many endangered species – orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants. Not only that, but burning forests to make room for palm oil crops is a big source of greenhouse gas emissions. It’s also been proven that these intense farming methods have led to soil erosion, pollution and water contamination.
Sadly palm oil consumption is on the increase (90% used in the food industry & 10% for others). And although sustainable palm oil and the transparency of this highly fragmented and challenging industry is at a very nascent stage. It will take time to transition fully. That’s why we say no to palm oil.
The AirWrap can now be found in 62 Tesco Metro , Tesco Express and Tesco Extra Stores across London. Discover where on this store locator.