25/04/2011 (The Star) - The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) hopes to address some of the strategic thinking and considerations behind the Truth in Labelling – Palm Oil Bill 2011 in Australia via the launch of the RSPO trademark slated by the middle of this year, said RSPO secretary-general Darrel Webber (pic).

The RSPO trademark will be stamped on product packaging and labels which contain RSPO certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) in their raw material or feedstock, thus enabling consumers to confirm very quickly that the products contribute to sustainable production of palm oil.

Webber was quoted in a press statement on RSPO’s stand on the proposed Bill which wanted mandatory labelling of products containing palm oil.

The purpose of the Act is to ensure that consumers have clear and accurate information about the inclusion of palm oil in foods; and to encourage the use of certified sustainable palm oil to promote protection of wildlife habitats.

While RSPO supports the latter objective, distinguishing palm oil as the only edible oil that requires labelling will imply that other edible oils do not face similar challenges.

“RSPO takes a strong view against this supposition as issues surrounding environmental destruction, social concerns and wildlife conservation are prevalent across the board with cultivation of any type of monoculture crops,” he added.

“Such a labelling exercise that singles out palm oil may only serve to ostracise agricultural farmers in developing countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, South America and West Africa, whose key source of income comes from palm oil.

“These smallholders need to be educated, guided, encouraged and inspired to adopt sustainable standards and solutions, rather than have their livelihoods affected. RSPO’s certification programme aims to support smallholders in this light,” Webber said.

He also said the long-term repercussion of the proposed Bill might decrease the demand for palm oil but would not eliminate the key reasons the proposal was aimed at addressing in the first place.

“This is because edible oil is a key ingredient in most consumer products.

“Demand would merely shift to other vegetable oils, increasing the sustainability problems connected to these other particular crops,” he added.

The current year’s production of CSPO to date has reached a record high of 4.7 million tonnes, surpassing last year’s full production of 2.8 million tonnes.

The uptake of certified sustainable palm oil for the current year is 2.2 million tonnes to date, which has exceeded the previous year’s uptake of 1.5 million tonnes.