There is no scientific evidence that palm oil is harmful
Don't be fooled by the misleading 'Palm Oil Free' label
27/12/2022 (Sinar Harian) - Food labels generally give an overview of the ingredient content information of a product for consumer reference such as nutritional content, meal recommendations, serving steps and so on.
However, there are also labels that are used as a cunning marketing tactic on certain products in the market with the intention of confusing consumers.
For example, the use of labels such as 'sugar-free' and 'GMO-free' or expressions such as 'environmentally friendly' and 'organic' that are often displayed on the packaging of a product can influence consumers in making a purchase.
Based on the study 'Consumer Attitudes Towards 'Free From' Labels conducted by the European Food Information Council, a European food information council, 'free from' labels usually mislead consumers because they give the impression that foods labeled as such are better for health than foods that are not. the label.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) in a statement asserted that discriminatory labels against palm oil such as 'no palm oil, no palm oil' are misleading because there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that consuming palm oil can be harmful to health.
Even more disappointing, now the label 'No Palm Oil' (No Palm Oil) can be found on products containing vegetable oil such as food, personal care and non-food products in the local and international markets.
Is palm oil harmful, as the 'No Palm Oil' label suggests? For everyone's knowledge, palm oil has a balanced fat content of 50 percent saturated fat and 50 percent unsaturated fat.
The higher the saturation of an oil, the more solid the state of the oil. Vice versa.
When an oil has a low saturation value, the more liquid the oil is.
Consumers often associate saturated fat as a cause of harm to health. In fact, a study by Dr. Franca Marangoni (Director of Research of the Italian Nutrition Foundation), refuted the claims and perceptions in her presentation at the Virtual Palm International Nutra-Cosmeceutical Conference (PINC 2021), an international palm nutra-cosmeceutical conference.
He explained that there is no clear evidence that can link saturated fat with an increased risk of coronary heart disease or cardiovascular disease. Both saturated fat and unsaturated fat play different roles in aspects of health and nutrition.
Since palm oil has a balanced fat composition, it can be used safely. What are the implications of 'No Palm Oil' labeling? The 'No Palm Oil' label can create a negative perception of palm oil among consumers.
The findings of a study by the European Palm Oil Alliance (EPOA) in 2018 showed that there are a large number of Europeans who think palm oil is produced from palm tree trunks when it is actually from kernels and palm fruits.
This shows that their general knowledge of the palm industry is very shallow, yet they are very vocal in boycotting palm oil.
Efforts to boycott palm oil will only increase the demand for other vegetable oils, and even increase the acreage required. This is because palm oil is the most productive vegetable oil and requires a very low area of cultivation land compared to other vegetable oils.
Therefore, efforts to boycott palm oil only cause more land to be needed to meet the world's vegetable oil demand, thereby contributing to increased deforestation and higher carbon emissions, rather than environmental sustainability.
If this issue is not curbed from now, it can cripple the Malaysian palm oil industry in the long term. This will affect national income, local businesses, people's livelihoods and also research and development of palm oil high technology.
Therefore, consumers are urged to prioritize sustainable palm oil products. Make appropriate judgments by taking into account all aspects and views of all parties and understand the basic issues before making a purchase.