Proposed U.S. label law may hit Asian palm oil exports
Proposed U.S. label law may hit Asian palm oil exports
KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones): The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration's planned move to classify trans fatty acids and
saturated fats under one food product category for labeling would
severely hit U.S. demand for tropical oils, Asian vegetable oil
trade and industry officials say.
They say such a move would be unjustified, misleading and the
result of a campaign by the U.S. soybean lobby. It would have a
direct impact on Southeast Asian producers of palm oil and
coconut oil.
The producers fear the proposal, if implemented, will reduce
demand for coconut and palm oil, because listed as trans fatty
acids, the labeling may lead American consumers to think the
consumption of coconut and palm oil will increase their risk of
heart disease.
The U.S. consumes about 40 percent of the Philippines' annual
coconut oil exports of 1.7 million metric tons. Although it isn't
a big market for other tropical oils, such as palm oil and palm
kernel oil, producers say adverse publicity in the U.S. could
easily spill over to key markets such as India and China.
"This labeling isn't considered a fair way of classifying
saturated fats. I was told that the FDA has received about 2,000
representations against it," said Derom Bangun, chairman of the
ASEAN Vegetable Oils Club and Indonesian Palm Oil Producers
Association.
The ASEAN Vegetable Oils Club comprises member countries of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association, along with
government representatives, met FDA officials in April seeking a
separate classification for saturated fats on food labels.
"They (U.S. soybean lobbyists) want to keep other oils away
from their market and they have a lot of money," to lobby with,
said Jesus Lim Arranza, chairman of the United Coconut
Association of Philippines, a coconut-producer body at the
forefront of the campaign against the FDA proposal.
"This labeling isn't considered a fair way of classifying
saturated fats. I was told that the FDA has received about 2,000
representations against it," said Derom Bangun, chairman of the
ASEAN Vegetable Oils Club and Indonesian Palm Oil Producers
Association.
The ASEAN Vegetable Oils Club comprises member countries of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association, along with
government representatives, met FDA officials in April seeking a
separate classification for saturated fats on food labels.
Arranza said FDA move won't succeed. "You can't mix bananas
with mangoes. It's absurd, and the sheer absurdity of the
proposal will negate its objective," he said. "I'm confident they
will listen to us. There are already a number of petitions
against the plan."
In the U.S., saturated fats are used in the manufacture of
food products, such as margarine and shortening.
Industry representatives also feel the move, if approved,
would revive the "Anti-Tropical Oils Campaign" of the 1970s. That
campaign was largely viewed by local producers as a move by a
lobby led by the American soybean growers to bar the entry of
tropical oils into the U.S. market.