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'Palm oil-free' claim stirs debate on product labeling rules
The Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) and palm oil smallholders have protested the use of "palm oil-free" labels, while Trade Ministry regards the label as a negative campaign against food products containing palm oil.
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A farmer harvests oil palm fruit at a plantation in Kuta Makmur, Aceh, on May 23, 2022. The trade in crude palm oil will be affected by the European Union’s deforestation-free regulation. (AFP/Azwar Ipank)
T
he government is considering whether to ban a type of locally made chocolate after a “palm oil-free” label on the product caused anger among palm oil producers who feared it would negatively affect perceptions of the country’s top export commodity.
The chocolate is sold under the brand Korté Chocolate Cashew & Seasalt, which is produced by Surabaya-based CV Korté Mitra Kreasi.
Tommy Andana, Trade Ministry director of trade compliance, said in a statement on Thursday that it considered the label negative campaigning against food products containing palm oil.
He said the label violated a Drug and Food Control Agency’s (BPOM) 2021 regulation on processed food labels, Article 67 of which prohibits businesses from including statements that directly or indirectly denigrate other parties’ goods and/or services.
The labeling may result in the withdrawal of the company’s products from the market, as stipulated in Article 71 of the regulation, Tommy explained.
The statement came amid protests from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), palm oil smallholders and the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC), the secretariat of which is located in Jakarta.
However, experts have said that rather than punishing firms trying to distance themselves from palm oil, the government should instead improve its labeling standards, which still lack a means to ensure the public is well-informed regarding the products they consume.
