Baking Oils
There are a variety of oils that can be used in baking. Either by putting some in the baking or for greasing the pans so the baking comes out smoothly. The most common ones seem to be
- Canola (made from rape/colza seeds)
- Sunflower
- Olive
- Coconut
- Rice bran
For this research we have looked at the single origin oils available in the major supermarkets. There are a variety of blends for sale, often labelled as Vegetable oil. There are homegrown oils available from Aotearoa/New Zealand and our neighbour Australia. They are very low risk for forced labour and their price reflects that.
Issues
So are there forced labour issues in the production of the other oils so abundant on our supermarket shelves?
With these there can be at least 2 countries involved before the bottles hit our shelves.
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Country where raw ingredients are grown and the oil squeezed out of the “nut/berry/stem”
Such agricultural settings are often vulnerable to forced labour and child labour. There are reports of forced and child labour in these settings. For example The US Department of Labour has reported forced and child labour in the harvesting of olives in Argentina. Further down the page we examine the range more fully, oil by oil.
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Country of Bottling
Interestingly much of the oil we buy is sent to Malaysia for bottling - a country with some issues with forced labour. There is strong evidence of forced labour at electronic manufacturing sites eg Kawaguchi Manufacturing (January 2025) and amongst domestic workers. The US Department of Labour also reports forced labour and child labour in the production of Oleochemicals - a group of compounds derived industrially from a range of animal and vegetable fats and oils. The context suggests the issue is only in the Palm Oil industry however I have written to US DoL re this subject. They have not answered this question.
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No direct research showing forced labour in the bottling of the oils we are investigating in Malaysia
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While in 2021 and 2022 Trafficking In Persons reports found Malaysia to be in Tier 3 (a concerning finding putting Malaysia in company with China) the Malaysian government has made significant steps to change things and Malaysia is now in Tier 2. Such changes include Increased investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of labour traffickers and corrupt officials.
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CHATGPT
- there is strong evidence that oleochemicals derived from palm oil / kernel in Malaysia can be and sometimes are produced with inputs linked to forced labour / child labour. The risk is recognised internationally (e.g. by ILAB). DOL
- But for non-palm oleochemicals (seed oils, coconut oil, etc.), I found no documented cases specifically linking them with slavery or forced labour in Malaysia, in the sources I searched.
There are no fair trade accreditation systems used in the Cooking oil arena.
Here are the oils commonly used in Baking we can recommend as slave free:
Canola Oil (Rapeseed oil)
Canola oil is produced from a variety of rapeseed (also called colza seeds in Europe) developed in Canada for it’s nutritional qualities. In 2024 Aotearoa/New Zealand (AOT/NZ) imported rape or colza seeds from a small range of countries Australia (99.8%), and the rest from France and Germany. These seeds may be planted or processed into Canola oil, we are unable to tell.These countries are all low risk for forced labour so Canola oil grown/processed in AOT/NZ from these seeds can be considered slave free. From personal communication we know that Pureoil NZ supplies rapeseed/canola seeds, mainly from France, to AOT/NZ farmers. Their crops are processed and the oils sold in our supermarkets under the brand The Good Oil. Whilst we do have some issues with forced labour in farms/orchards in AOT/NZ, these seed crops are highly mechanised and so we consider these oils to be slave free. We also import prepacked Canola oil grown and produced in Australia. We consider these to be slave free too.
While many of the bottles of Rapeseed or canola oil say they are packed in Malaysia it is unlikely that the seeds are grown in Malaysia. The percentage of rapeseed grown in Malaysia is tiny compared with Australia, China and low risk European countries. Therefore we need to know if forced labour is used in the processing factories.The US Department of Labour also reports forced labour and child labour in the production of Oleochemicals - a group of compounds derived industrially from rapeseed oils and some are used for emulsifiers in food. see notes above - this is an unfinished section while i await more info or have a discussion with you!
The Good Oil
Available in all our major supermarkets
Woolworths
Woolworths Australian Canola Oil is as the label suggests a product of Australia so we consider it slave free. It comes in 2L, 750ml and a 400g spraycan.
Sunfield Oils
Woolworths alone stocks this Sunfield Canola oil product and through personal communication we have been informed that despite the statement on the bottle “Packed in NZ from imported ingredients”, the oil is always from Australia as stated on the WW website.
The following oil products are ones we don’t have enough information to make recommendations about:
Harvest Canola oil is sold through Woolworths stores and it states on the bottle that it is packed in Malaysia from imported ingredients.
Pacific Crown
Pacific Crown canola oil is sold through Pak n Save and Fresh Choice stores and appears to be imported from Malaysia but it is unclear exactly where the oil is from.
Simply
Simply Canola oil is a product of Malaysia and is available from Woolworths, Pak n Save and New World I have also asked Goodman fielder about the source and bottling
Dots cooking spray - Canola oil
Dots Cooking spray is Canola oil and the label tells us it’s made in New Zealand from imported and local ingredients. Available from Woolworths
Sunflower Oil
In 2024 Aotearoa/New Zealand (AOT/NZ) imported 1.7 million kilograms of sunflower seeds, with the bulk (> 82%) coming from Bulgaria and the rest from China (12%), France and USA. However we do not know what happens to these seeds once they hit our shores. While there’s evidence that labor exploitation and trafficking are problems in Bulgarian agriculture more broadly, there’s no confirmed proof that sunflower seed production is systematically using slavery.
When it comes to the importing of sunflower oil the records bundle sunflower together with safflower (only available in small organic stores) so that’s not very helpful when trying to find out about the source of Sunflower oil sold in AOT/NZ. although it is notable that France,Spain and Malaysia occur near the top of the lists for these imports.
The US Department of Labour has reported forced labour as an issue in the sunflower industry in Burma. Burma does not feature in any of these AOT/NZ or Malaysia import lists.
The Good Oil
The sunflowers are grown, harvested and processed in Aoteoroa New Zealand so we consider them slave free.
Woolworths sunflower oil states on the label that it is packed in Malaysia from imported ingredients.
Harvest sunflower oil sold in Woolworths is packed in Malaysia from imported ingredients.
PAMS sunflower oil is available in New Worlds and Pak n Save. It comes in 500ml and 2 L sizes.
Source?
Olive
Australian and New Zealand grown
Cobram Estate
Cobram Estate Olive oil is grown in Australia and is available in selected New World supermarkets. We consider it to be slave free due to Australia having robust employment laws and the comprehensiveness of the Cobram Estate Modern slavery statement.
Coconut
The US Department of Labour lists that child labour occurs in the production of coconuts in the Philippines. The Philippines is a leading global exporter of coconut oil. In 2024, the Philippines exported almost 1 Billion kg of coconut oil with 426Kg coming directly to New Zealand. We are unable to establish figures for indirect imports but we can look out for and avoid Coconut oil sourced from the Phillipines.
Coconut is grown and processed in Malaysia and they also import a large quantity of crude and non crude Coconut oil to bottle and export with the bulk of it coming from the Philippines followed by Indonesia. There is no direct evidence of forced labour in the coconut industry in Indonesia although there is evidence in the palm oil industry there. Again a lack of transparency on labels regarding sources makes it very difficult to do other than avoid anything that is packed in Malaysia to be sure you are consuming slave free Coconut oil.
Blue Coconut
We researched Blue Coconut coconut oil in our work on Nuts,coconuts and rice Available in a variety of stores including all the main supermarkets.
Rice bran oil
Rice bran oil is an edible oil extracted from the outer layer of rice grains. This portion is often discarded or used for animal feed.There are no statistics available regarding the importing of rice bran oil into Aotearoa/New Zealand (AOT/NZ). According to Volza export and import data platform globally, the top three exporters of Rice Bran Oil are China, India, and Brazil. All are vulnerable to forced labour in agriculture.
Alfa one
Alfa one rice bran oil is produced in Thailand. According to Walk free global Slavery index Thailand is a moderate risk country for forced labour with issues in the agriculture (latex and poultry farmers) and manufacturing (factory workers condoms, baby formula) arenas. Forced labour and child labour in also reported in the fishing, sugarcane and garment industries. Therefore we don’t have enough information to classify this product as slave free.
Woolworths
Woolworths Bottles of Rice bran oil are products of Vietnam (the spraycans are from Thailand)
According to Walk free global Slavery index Vietnam is a moderate risk country for forced labour with issues in the garment industry and millions of people being forced into state imposed forced labour. Forced labour and child labour in also reported in many area of agriculture and manufacturing. In particular there was evidence of children being forced to work an excessive number of hours cultivating rice. Therefore it is unlikely this product is slave free
Woolworths Rice bran oil spraycan - the rice bran is produced in Thailand and packed in Australia
Harvest
Harvest rice bran oil is sold in 1L bottles at The Warehouse and Woolworths. It is packed in Malaysia from imported ingredients.
Pams
Pams rice bran oil is sold in New World and Pak n Save ? source
Simply
Simply rice bran oil is available from Woolworths online store - I have asked Goodman fielder about the source