PALM OIL LABELING POLITICALLY MOTIVATED, SAYS MPOB CHAIRMAN

MELAKA (Malaysia), July 1 (Bernama) -- Australia's proposed palm oil
labeling law is discriminatory and politically motivated, Malaysian Palm Oil
Board (MPOB) Chairman Shahrir Abdul Samad said Friday.

"Labeling should be prompted by health and environmental issues and not
political interest," he told reporters after the launch of biodiesel B5 usage at
a Shell pump station in Ayer Keroh here.

Melaka Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam officiated the ceremony.

Shahrir said the MPOB had proven through research that palm oil was good for
human.

He said the proposed law would adversely affect Malaysia's palm oil
industry. "An issue like this can also impact the smallholders and farmers," he
added.

According to reports, the Australian Senate had last week passed the Food
Standard Amendment (Truth in Labelling - Palm Oil) Bill 2010 that would require
products containing palm oil be explicitly labelled, rather than described as
vegetable oil.

Meanwhile, Shahrir said 107 pump stations nationwide started selling
biodiesel B5 Friday. B5 is a blend of 95 per cent regular petroleum-based diesel
with five per cent palm-oil based biodiesel.

The use of biodiesel B5 could contribute to savings of almost eight million
litres of fossil diesel annually, he said.

He said the B5 programme would not have any implications on fuel prices for
the public because the government would continue to provide subsidy to ensure
the retail price of biofuel B5 would be the same as that of petroleum diesel.
-- BERNAMA