Palm oil based cooking oil to carry “Love My Palm Oil” label

BANGI: Companies participating in the Cooking Oil Price Stabilisation Scheme (COSS), will, from now on, affix the "Sayangi Sawitku" and "Love My Palm Oil" labels on palm oil-based cooking oil polybags and bottles in support of the ongoing yearlong campaign.

A total of 23 refineries and 286 cooking oil re-packagers are participating in the scheme which is under the purview of the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry.

"The involvement of repackers in the labeling exercise will not result in higher cooking oil prices,” its minister, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, told a press conference after meeting participants of the scheme at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board here yesterday.

Present was the Minister of Primary Industries Teresa Kok Suh Sim.

Saifuddin said ministry officials met up with cooking oil repackers, last week, to explain the government's aspiration and to get them to support the "Love My Palm Oil” campaign.

The Primary Industries Ministry launched the campaign in January to instill national pride and greater appreciation for Malaysian palm oil, focusing on socio-economic importance, health, nutrition, food and nonfood applications.

For the government to fight the anti-palm oil campaigns that are endangering the people's livelihood, all Malaysians needed to know and love palm oil.

In reality, Malaysians, including businesses, are not aware of the socio-economic importance and nutritional value of palm oil, besides it being more environment-friendly compared with other competing oils.

Meanwhile, Kok said affixing the "Sayangi Sawitku" and "Love My Palm Oil" labels plus the mandatory Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification to palm oil cooking oil packs and bottles can be undertaken by COSS participants as an initiative to disseminate the goodness of Malaysian palm oil.

She said such an initiative would go a long way in educating and raising consumer awareness towards valuing and appreciating the commodity.

Anti-palm oil smear campaigns, mounted by Europeans nongovernmental organisations, requires all industry players to come forward to promote the sustainability of Malaysian palm oil especially among domestic consumers," the minister added. - Bernama