ID :
194505
Tue, 07/12/2011 - 11:51
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/194505
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MINISTER TO LEAD TEAM TO CONVINCE AUSTRALIA TO DROP PALM OIL LABELLING
PENAMPANG (Sabah, Malaysia), July 12 (Bernama) -- Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, Bernard Dompok, will lead a delegation for a one-week visit to Australia, starting July 24, 2011, to counter the misconceptions on palm oil.
Dompok said the delegation hoped to convince the Australian government to drop its bid to legislate the mandatory labelling of palm oil as an ingredient in food products.
He said the delegation would comprise government officials, palm oil industry players and experts in the fields of wildlife, forestry and nvironment.
"The delegation will show what Malaysia, the second biggest producer of palm oil, has been doing all this while and counter the misconceptions.
"I want to tell them our side of the story, particularly on the efforts by the Australian Parliament (following the passing of the Food Standards Amendment (Truth in Labelling -- Palm Oil) Bill 2010), concerning palm oil.
"I want to give them the correct information ... We will be engaging with a wide range of people there, maybe from the legislature and also from the (palm oil) industry itself," he told reporters after launching 'Edupalm', an awareness programme for secondary school students here Tuesday.
On June 23, the Australian Senate passed an amendment to the Food Act requiring products containing palm oil be explicitly labelled, rather than be described as "vegetable oil".
Dompok said the visit offered an opportunity to set things straight before the Bill was debated and passed by the Lower House of the Australian Parliament.
He had earlier described the Bill as "a discriminatory law against palm oil", as competing vegetable oils were not required to do the same.
"When it comes to environmental and 'green' issues, palm oil has been an easy target all these years ... And those from outside the country said we have not only been destroying the orang utan (population) but also our forest reserves," he said.
Dompok said these misconceptions were further spread by those who were dissatisfied with what the country has achieved, and thus it was the country's duty to promote and create awareness on the sustainable practices it has adopted.
He said the team would also be promoting other commodities, such as timber and rubber, during the visit.
Dompok said the delegation hoped to convince the Australian government to drop its bid to legislate the mandatory labelling of palm oil as an ingredient in food products.
He said the delegation would comprise government officials, palm oil industry players and experts in the fields of wildlife, forestry and nvironment.
"The delegation will show what Malaysia, the second biggest producer of palm oil, has been doing all this while and counter the misconceptions.
"I want to tell them our side of the story, particularly on the efforts by the Australian Parliament (following the passing of the Food Standards Amendment (Truth in Labelling -- Palm Oil) Bill 2010), concerning palm oil.
"I want to give them the correct information ... We will be engaging with a wide range of people there, maybe from the legislature and also from the (palm oil) industry itself," he told reporters after launching 'Edupalm', an awareness programme for secondary school students here Tuesday.
On June 23, the Australian Senate passed an amendment to the Food Act requiring products containing palm oil be explicitly labelled, rather than be described as "vegetable oil".
Dompok said the visit offered an opportunity to set things straight before the Bill was debated and passed by the Lower House of the Australian Parliament.
He had earlier described the Bill as "a discriminatory law against palm oil", as competing vegetable oils were not required to do the same.
"When it comes to environmental and 'green' issues, palm oil has been an easy target all these years ... And those from outside the country said we have not only been destroying the orang utan (population) but also our forest reserves," he said.
Dompok said these misconceptions were further spread by those who were dissatisfied with what the country has achieved, and thus it was the country's duty to promote and create awareness on the sustainable practices it has adopted.
He said the team would also be promoting other commodities, such as timber and rubber, during the visit.
