01/10/2010 (Mongabay.com) - An Australian senator introduced a legislation that would require manufacturers to specify whether palm oil has been used in their food products, reports the Australian Associated Press. Presently food labeling laws in Australia allow companies to list palm oil as "vegetable oil" on packaging even though it comes from a palm tree.

The Food Standards Amendment Bill , introduced by Senator Nick Xenophon, would enable consumers to choose whether they want to buy products containing palm oil, which, as a cheap oil, is increasing used in processed foods but has been linked to deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia, putting endangered species like orangutan at greater risk. The bill, however, would allow manufacturers who use palm oil produced in accordance with social and environmental criteria to specify "CS palm oil", for "certified sustainable palm oil", on their packaging. The labeling could encourage buyers to support greener palm oil production.

"Even if Australian consumers want to boycott palm oil, current labeling laws make it virtually impossible to do so," Xenophon said in a statement posted on his web site.

"Consumers should have the information they need to ensure that what they eat in their homes won't end up leaving Orang-utans without homes."

Some palm oil producers in the past have called such initiatives "discriminatory". They note that palm oil is a highly productive source of oil that has boosted income generated from rainforest areas in Indonesia and Malaysia.