Food giant Nestlé has followed the example of Unilever and will no longer use the Indonesian palm oil company Sinar Mas as a supplier.

Nestlé, the world's largest foodstuff company, took the decision under pressure from environmental organisations like Greenpeace which accuses Sinar Mas of destroying the Indonesian rain forest.

On Wednesday, Greenpeace mounted actions against Nestlé in Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries. It says Sinar Mas systematically fells primeval forest to clear land for palm oil plantations. The logging is putting further strain on the already highly-endangered orang utan.

Three months ago Unilever cut its ties with a subsidiary of Sinar Mas. Food companies use palm oil in soap, ice cream, margarine and many other products

Sinar Mas denies the accusation of environmental vandalism, as Greenpeace terms it, and says it wants to enter into a dialogue with the organisation.