27/09/05 PETALING JAYA, (Bernama) -- The popularity of palm oil is soaringin the United States market, thanks to concerns over trans fatty acids,which are mainly seen in partial hydrogenation liquid oils such assoyabean, rapeseed and sunflower oils, and compulsory labelling beginningJan 1, 2006.

Trans fatty acids have been identified by some researchers as highlydetrimental to human health, said California Oils Corporation's productand consumer research and development manager Craig Torres.

When compared with other liquid oils, palm oil is naturally semi-solid atambient temperatures and can provide the physical and chemicalrequirements without any chemical modification for use as foodapplications, he explained.

Palm oil can also be fractionated into a liquid fraction and a solidfraction, and thus it is much more versatile and diverse in itsapplications, he added.

Edible oil producers such California Oils have seen a dramatic increase inpalm oil use and interest, beginning in late 2004 and increasing as 2005progressed, Torres said.

"We are projected to do about 240 million pounds, a massive increase ofbetween 30 and 40 percent (year-on-year). The increase is mainly due tothe more usage of palm oil," he told Bernama on the sidelines of theInternational Palm Oil Congress (PIPOC) 2005 being held here Tuesday.

He said one third of the edible oils produced by California Oils is palmoil and the company also produces safflower oil, coconut oil and corn oil.

Palm kernel oil has become favourite among manufacturers looking for anaturally hard vegetable fat with bland flavour and good mouthingproperties, according to him.

Torres said to some extent sunflower, canola and safflower are being usedto replace hydrogenated frying fat and for blending with other oils forfunctionality and flavour.

This is because some of the food manufacturers are very familiar withthese oils in US, he pointed out.

"For example, palm olien can be considered as a new oil in US as we havegot a whole generation of food formulators who are not with palm," hesaid.

Torres called on the Malaysian palm oil industry to work with edible oilproducers such as California Oils to get input from food formulators andcome out with niche promotions to tap the market further.

"It will take some time for palm oil to go further into the US market.Some promotions from the health aspect for consumers will be good," hesaid.

"Also try to do something more to dispel smear campaigns against palm," headded.

Lately, there have been reports that the capacity at Loders Croklaan'spalm oil refinery in the US will be tripled before the end of this yeardue to increasing sales resulting from the ruling on trans fatty acid.

The US imported almost 350,000 tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia last year,up 33 percent compared with 2003.

Shipments have increased by around 20 percent during the first few monthsof this year.

The potential market for palm oil in the US is around 2.3 metric tonnes,according to a recent report.

-- BERNAMA