Suppliers of “sustainable” palm oil to Britain’s biggest supermarkets and food brands have been linked to devastating rainforest fires.

Shoppers are being misled by the industry’s “100 per cent certified sustainable” labelling scheme which is like “a henhouse insurance scheme run by foxes”, according to a Greenpeace report. The authors said that major producers in the scheme were themselves responsible for five years of deforestation in Asia.

Palm oil is present in up to half of products on supermarket shelves, including cosmetics, toiletries and food. Large parts of rainforest have been cleared for plantations to meet demand for the oil, which is extracted from the fruit of oil palm trees and is significantly cheaper to produce than other vegetable oils. As well as the