Canola takes social media hit

SASKATOON — Canola and other seed oils are under attack.

“We are seeing more misinformation about seed oils, and a lot of that is coming through on social media,” Brittany Wood, director of canola utilization with the Canola Council of Canada, said during a recent webinar.

“If you are on TikTok or Instagram, it’s quite possible that you may have come across something that is negative or misleading.”

A quick search of the #seedoils hashtag on TikTok shows there are major influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers warning consumers to stop buying products containing seed oils such as canola oil.

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They contend seed oils are heavily processed, have been bleached and deodorized and cause gut inflammation, among other criticisms.

Lynn Weaver, market development manager with the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission, said seed oil bashing has been going on for five to seven years but seems to be fading of late.

She has noticed a reduction in the number of dieticians reaching out to her for information to counteract the criticisms.

“They’re probably not getting as many questions from their clients about seed oils as they used to in the past,” she said.

Wood is seeing more credible sources on social media, such as registered dieticians and other health care professionals, emphasizing the positive attributes of canola oil.

“Perhaps the tide has shifted a little bit,” she said in an interview following her presentation.

Weaver, who is a registered dietician, said the words “bleached” and “deodorized” sound scary but they are common practices used to refine many vegetable oils.

“Maybe there’s some better words that need to be associated with it,” she said.

“But bleaching doesn’t mean that we bleach canola, it means that we just kind of purify it so that it has a paler colour and increased stability.”

She also noted that there is no credible evidence to suggest canola oil is an inflammatory substance. In fact, it contains healthy amounts of omega 3, which is an anti-inflammatory.

As well, canola oil has the least amount of saturated fats among the common cooking oils.

“From a nutritional point of view, it’s an ideal oil, it really is superior,” said Weaver.

She shudders at the suggestion of anti-seed oil influencers that people should instead be consuming palm and coconut oil.

“They’re very high in saturated fat,” said Weaver.

“You can see that when you see them on the shelf. They’re solid. They’re hard at room temperature. Those are the fats that we want to avoid.”

Wood said there is no evidence to suggest that the anti-seed oil campaign has led to any demand destruction for canola oil.

But the canola industry still felt it was necessary to form the Seed Oil Coalition in conjunction with corn and soybean commodity groups to share information and jointly fight what they deem a misinformation campaign.

The canola industry created the canolainfo.org website and associated social media handles to help disseminate “correct information” on canola oil in the United States.

It also operates an exhibit at the annual Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, where it hands out the latest scientific information on canola oil to dieticians.

“The information in the programs we put out are really backed by science and credible people,” said Wood.

Weaver said the three provincial canola organizations are funding a Canadian marketing campaign called Hello Canola to help spread a positive message about the crop.

The group is working with social media influencers, such as Abbey Sharp, a dietician who touts the health benefits of canola oil and refutes anti-seed oil claims.

The target audience for the Hello Canola campaign is English-speaking millennials age 27 to 43 who access the majority of their content digitally.

Wood said the canola sector is also preparing a manuscript that will be published in a peer-reviewed journal that will be distributed to dieticians and health professionals to ensure they’re being informed about the health benefits of seed oils such as canola.

The council is conducting consumer market research to make sure it understands the perceptions and use of canola oil. The results are expected to be ready for publication in about six months.