Cadbury New Zealand has bowed to consumer pressure and stopped using palm oil in its dairy milk chocolate.
The confectionary giant caused a furore when it was revealed it had substituted cocoa butter with vegetable fat including palm oil.
Palm oil is a controversial ingredient linked with global warming issues and intensive habitat destruction leading to the deaths of orang-utans in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Cadbury New Zealand managing director Matthew Oldham said he was “really sorry” and that the decision was in direct response to consumer feedback, including hundreds of letters and emails.
“At the time, we genuinely believed we were making the right decision, for the right reasons. But we got it wrong,” he said.
“Now we’re putting things right as soon as we possibly can, and hope Kiwis will forgive us. The change will be made within the next few weeks, he said.
Members of the nearly 3500-strong Facebook group ‘Take palm oil out of Cadbury chocolate bars’ were ecstatic at the news.