Hans

@hans1671102377 · 13 Dec 2022

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Environmentally polluting ammonia in Oreo cookies

Environmentally polluting ammonia incorporated into Oreo biscuits for black color.

Olam cocoa factory in Koog aan Zaan adds large amounts of ammonia to ground cocoa beans to give the well-known Oreo cookies a black color. The factory managed to keep it a secret for years. Although the government was aware of it, they kept it quiet.

For years, the factory maintained that ammonia was naturally released when processing cocoa beans. It did not mention that tens of thousands of kilograms of ammonia were added to cocoa to give it a black color. For a few years, the local residents, the environmental movement and the government have been critical of ammonia emissions, which, together with nitrogen dioxide emissions, are the biggest environmental problem in the Netherlands.

The Environment Service was aware of the addition of ammonia, but kept it secret at Olam's request. Research by the Noordhollands Dagblad shows that the factory misled local residents, competition and politics by publishing misinformation about their massive ammonia emissions.  

Eric Hederhand, director of Olam, confirms that ammonia is being added to the process. “Ofi (Olam) uses ammonia as an alkalization solution for some cocoa powders to change the color or flavor of the final product. There is no or very little ammonia left in the final product. Ofi mentions its use as a food additive in the technical information for each ingredient,” says the director. “I can't comment on specific amounts.”

The maker of the oreo cookies, Mondelez, is aware of the use of ammonia to make the cocoa powder black. According to Mondelez, this process also makes the cookie taste better. “The use of ammonium carbonate in food does not affect the quality or safety of the product,” says Annick Verdege from Mondelez. The list of ingredients includes the addition of ammonia as “ammonium carbonate”.

According to a whistle-blower, whose name is known to the chief editor of Noordhollands Dagblad, the factory was not designed to process this amount of ammonia. “There has never been enough money invested to do that properly. Too expensive, they thought. So the ammonia peels out from every nook and cranny, the smell is enormous. The environment? The company summit is not interested in that. But the black cocoa powder and what they earn with it.” Mondelez says it has worked on an “improved production method that uses more environmentally friendly alkali”.

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