5 More Food Companies to End Use of Tropical Oils

A multimillionaire who has crusaded against the use of highly saturated coconut and palm oil in processed foods declared victory Monday as five more major food companies said they would stop using the fats.

“I am elated this has happened,” said Phil Sokolof, who announced that General Mills, Ralston Purina, Borden, Pillsbury and Quaker Oats had agreed to switch to vegetable oils with less saturated fat.

“How much I have had to do with this is for the public to decide,” said the Omaha businessman, who spent $2 million on nationwide newspaper ads to promote his cause. “I know we speeded it up.”

The five companies joined four others that earlier said they would stop using the so-called tropical oils in their food products: Kellogg, Sunshine Biscuits, Pepperidge Farm and Keebler.

Raise Cholesterol Levels

Saturated fats increase blood cholesterol levels, which are a risk factor for heart attacks. Sokolof, 66, blames high cholesterol for the near-fatal heart attack he suffered 22 years ago.

None of the companies gave timetables for the reformulation of their products, but many said that removal of tropical oils had been under way before Sokolof launched his campaign.

In the earlier announcements, some of the companies denied that Sokolof had any influence on their decision. Kellogg’s even denounced Sokolof as irresponsible for placing the full-page ads, which warned of the “poisoning of America” through tropical oils.

But the latest announcements, in the form of letters to Sokolof over the past week, were cordial.

“The elimination of tropical fats from Pillsbury products is a major priority,” said a letter from that company, released by Sokolof. “Thank you for your efforts on behalf of the American consumer.”