Food Manufacturers Must Demand Palm Oil Containing Lower Levels of Potential Carcinogens - MPOB

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has urged food manufacturers and palm oil industry players to take heed of the recent issue raised by the recent Hong Kong Consumer Council concerning 60 pre-packaged biscuits made of palm oil.  Reports said the Council claimed the biscuits contain cancer-causing substances such as glycidyl esters.  

MPOB director-general Dr. Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir in a statement issued last week said palm oil refineries should be firm by requesting palm oil mills to supply crude palm oil (CPO) with lower chloride content to enable palm oil refineries to reduce 3-MCPDE (3-monochloro-propanediol esters) in refined palm oil. “The presence of chloride in CPO is found to be the precursor of 3-MCPDE when the oil undergoes refining at elevated temperatures. CPO washing has shown to be the most effective approach in reducing chloride content in CPO, which in turn allows processed palm oil with lower 3-MCPDE [to be produced],” he said. 
   
According to him, the MPOB maintains high-quality standards throughout the palm oil supply chain through the implementation of strict quality-enforcement procedures, which include regular inspections, spot checks, and routine sampling and testing.   To effectively monitor and control export and import of palm oil products, all transaction activities are fully monitored via physical inspections on bulking installations and vessels, he said.