evidence: A controversy over palm oil threatens to cast a pall over Nutella, the delicious chocolate-hazelnut spread made by the Italian company Ferrero. Headlines like "Nutella Can Cause Cancer, Study Warns" have circulated across the internet this week, but is Ferrero really including an ingredient that might give consumers cancer? The study, released by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) last May, does not say that Nutella can cause cancer. What the study does say is that palm oil, an ingredient in Nutella, releases potentially carcinogenic chemicals when refined at high temperatures. Palm oil, derived from the fruit of palm trees, is used in plenty of food. When refined at around 200 degrees Celsius, the study says, palm oil releases a contaminant known as glycidyl fatty esters (GE) in higher levels than other vegetable oils. Previous studies have shown that GE can cause tumors in rats and mice, leading EFSA to characterize it as a "potential health risk" for children and anyone who consumes it in high amounts. [...] Nutella’s cancer risks may be overblown by the press, but there are still plenty of good reasons not to eat palm oil. Palm oil plantations have been linked to deforestation, air pollution, and illegal labor practices. Although Ferrero says it sources palm oil from sustainable plantations, it has still come under criticism from environmentalists. France’s ecology minister urged the public to "stop eating Nutella" in 2015, adding that it should be made with "other ingredients."