23/03/2013 (Business Green) - Shoppers might consider their Easter Eggs less tasty if they knew some brands are contributing to rainforest destruction, campaigners will warn today.

A survey of over 70 Easter Egg manufacturers undertaken by the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) and Ethical Consumer found some are using non-certified palm oil or its derivatives in their products, raising the possibility that the palm oil has contributed to deforestation in south east Asia.

The survey ranks the brands based on their use of palm oil that has not been certified as coming from sustainably managed plantations.

The top two chocolate companies are Divine and Booja Booja, neither of which use any palm oil in their chocolate products.

Meanwhile, Lindt, Thorntons and Guylian make up the bottom three in the rankings. The charities argue that Lindt supplied inaccurate figures for the survey, while Thorntons and Guylian failed to submit any documentation to the organisations that set international sustainable palm oil standards.

A recent RFUK report identified that unsustainable palm oil poses an increasing threat to the world's rainforests, particularly in Indonesia where the industry is well established. However, new in-roads are also being made by the palm oil industry in the Congo basin, where RFUK estimates an area of rainforest the size of Yorkshire is currently being cleared to make way for oil palm plantations.

Palm oil is a core ingredient in many food products, but growing numbers of companies have pledged to move towards sourcing palm oil that meets international sustainability standards and comes from plantations that are not linked to deforestation.

However, currently companies are not required to label products containing palm oil until December 2014, which RFUK and Ethical Consumer says is confusing for shoppers.

The groups said the Easter Egg guide will be the first in a series of reports offering information on the palm oil content of biscuits, cereals, and spreads.

"Consumer power has the potential to help save the Congo's rainforests and its wildlife that is under threat from palm oil production," said Tim Hunt co-director at Ethical Consumer.

"This Easter we're asking chocolate lovers to buy their Easter Eggs from those chocolate companies that we've identified as taking an ethically responsible stance on this critical issue."