POI Palm Oil Barcode Scanner app for iPhone and iPad

POI (Palm Oil Investigations) has launched a Palm oil barcode scanner for Australia and New Zealand products.

POI is a voluntary not for profit organization who have been investigating palm oil content and supply chain certification status in products since March 2013.

A year in the making, POI’s barcode scanner app has been developed to assist concerned consumers identify palm usage in products so that informed purchasing decisions can be made prior to purchase.

POI encourages consumers to support companies using ethical palm oil supply. Boycott is not the answer. Palm oil is here to stay, like it or not. The only chance we have to save the critically endangered species that are facing extinction due to habitat loss for palm oil, is to regulate the industry. The POI palm oil scanner app places power directly into the hands of the consumer. The POI scanner App has all the features and tools required to regulate the industry and its 100% FREE.

Scan the product barcode. Read the palm oil status. Select an alternative ethical product. Send a pre-written email to the company. Hit buy to compile ethical purchasing percentages and share your percentage to social media so you can show how you are making a difference.

Around 40% of products on supermarket shelves contain palm oil. Palm oil is a common ingredient in food (Biscuits, bakery items, Ice Cream, Chocolate, Confectionery, Crisps, Margarine, Health food bars, Cereals) etc. Derivatives of the oil are common in personal care products (Shampoo, Conditioner, Soaps, Skin care, Toothpaste) as well as household cleaning and detergents.

Rarely labelled by its correct name, palm oil is the hidden ingredient. There are over 200 names for palm oil its derivatives, the most common is the generic term vegetable oil. Other common names used in food production are emulsifier 471 and humectant glycerol.

Oil palm is a high yielding and versatile crop which only produces fruit when grown 10 degrees north or south of the equator. 87% of world supply is grown in SE Asia; mainly on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo which is the only place on earth where orangutans, elephants, tigers, rhino’s co-exist in the wild. Habitat loss for palm oil is driving these critically endangered species toward extinction.

Palm Oil is the cheapest of vegetable oils. Due to high demand, virgin rainforests in Sumatra and Borneo are being decimated at an alarming rate. Large areas of tropical forests and other ecosystems with high conservation values have been cleared to make room for oil palm plantations, essentially killing the biodiversity of the ecosystems that they replace.