Pocky

Originating in Japan, Pocky is now a well-known brand globally. Pocky is chocolate-covered biscuit sticks that now come in a variety of flavours from the original milk chocolate to banana and strawberry flavoured Pocky.

Ingredients

Wheat Flour, Sugar, Palm Oil, Rapeseed oil, Lactose, Whole Milk Powder, Cocoa Powder, Shortening, Artificial Flavouring, Soy Lecithin, Salt, Yeast, Corn Starch, Baking Powder, Sodium Hydroxide, Papain.

Palm Oil

Palm oil comes from palm trees. The palm tree is found in the tropical regions of the globe; it has since been introduced into every tropical and most subtropical region of the globe. Its harvesting has become extensive in South East Asia. There are over 2600 species of the palm tree. The palm tree has held significance for thousands of years. It is connected to the gods of ancient Assyria and Egypt, and the branches were given as a reward to Roman champions of the games.

Palm oil is obtained by extracting the oil from the oleaginous mesocarp of the fruits, to translate it comes from the oily middle of the fruit.

Significance

The palm oil used in Pocky has recently been highlighted as one of the major contributors to deforestation. The World Wildlife Foundation notes that the creation of palm oil plantations is destroying the biodiverse forests and the habitats of many endangered species. The mass deforestation is also a contributing factor for climate change.

About; https://pocky.com/about (accessed 12. 04. 2020). 8 Things to Know About Palm Oil; https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/8-things-know-about-palm-oil (accessed 12. 04. 2020). Mansfeld’s World Database of Agriculture and Horticultural Crops; http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/apex/f?p=185:46:2497572125687::NO::module,source,taxid,akzname:mf,volksnam,11040,Elaeisguineensis (accessed 12. 04. 2020). Palm, New World Encyclopedia; https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Palm (accessed 12. 04. 2020).