While many people are careful that their household purchases are not affecting the environment, a new report by Friends of the Earth reveals one in three food products on our supermarket shelves are directly contributing to the destruction of the world's rainforests.

The research shows that the booming trade in palm oil, used in everyday products such as chocolate, crisps, margarine, shampoo and detergents is fuelling the destruction of rainforests in South East Asia, and leading to human rights abuses and devastating pollution.

The environmental group is calling on the government to force UK companies to address this issue, and introduce legislation to make them accountable for the damage they cause.

"Consumers will be horrified to know that their weekly shop is destroying the rainforest,” says Friends of the Earth Director Tony Juniper, “but it is all but impossible to avoid buying palm oil.”

“Tigers, orang-utans and countless other species are being driven to extinction while governments stand idly by and allow companies to get away with it. This problem will not be solved until there are clear rules to ensure the products found in our shops are produced in a way that does not harm communities and the environment,” Juniper continues.

Large-scale palm oil plantations are replacing the forests in Indonesia and Malaysia at an alarming rate, wiping out 80-100% of wildlife in the area, forcing local communities from their land and destroying their livelihoods. In Indonesia, the forests are disappearing at a rate of more than 2 million hectares a year - an area greater than the size of Wales.

Palm oil is one of the world's most consumed oils and used in a number of top brand foods, including Walkers' crisps, Kellogg's cereals, Heinz soups and some Cadbury Schweppes' chocolate. UK companies are involved in the trade as investors, retailers and in processing palm oil.

Friends of the Earth Director Tony Juniper said: "The global trade in palm oil is destroying some of the world's most precious wildlife, but the UK government and the companies involved seem to be turning a blind eye. It is time this greasy supply chain was brought under control and the companies were forced to take responsibility for the damage they cause."