2011-05-09 18:21 
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 9, 2011
/PRNewswire-Asia/ --
http://www.rspo.org/media/index.php
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm
Oil (RSPO) today released a statement of their positioning on the
Truth in Labeling - Palm Oil Bill 2010 in Australia, whereby
mandatory labeling of products containing palm oil has been
proposed.
The purpose of the Act is to ensure
that consumers have clear, accurate information about the inclusion
of palm oil in foods; and to encourage the use of certified
sustainable palm oil in order to promote the protection of wildlife
habitats. RSPO supports the latter objective.
Darrel Webber, Secretary General of
the RSPO, commented that: "However, distinguishing palm oil as the
only edible oil that requires labeling implies that other edible
oils do not face similar challenges. RSPO takes a strong view
against this supposition as issues surrounding environmental
destruction. Social concerns and wildlife conservation are
prevalent across the board with cultivation of any type of
monoculture crops.
"Further to this, such a labeling
exercise that singles out palm oil may only serve to ostracize
agricultural farmers in developing markets such as Indonesia,
Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, South America, West Africa, etc. whose
key source of income comes from palm oil. These smallholders need
to be educated, guided, encouraged and inspired to adopt
sustainable standards and solutions, rather than have their
livelihoods affected. RSPO certification program aims to support
smallholders in this light," Webber reiterated.
He went on to say that: "The long
term repercussion of this proposed Bill may decrease the demand for
palm oil but will not eliminate the key reasons this proposal is
aimed at addressing in the first place. This is because edible oil
is a key ingredient in most consumer products. Demand would merely
shift to other vegetable oils, increasing the sustainability
problems connected to these other particular crops."
An imminent development which the
RSPO hopes will address some of the strategic thinking and
considerations behind this proposed Bill will be the launch of the
RSPO trademark, which will be stamped on product packaging and
labels which contain RSPO Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) in
their raw material or feedstock, targeted for launch by mid 2011
this year.
The trademark will enable consumers
to confirm very quickly that the products they buy contribute to
sustainable production of palm oil. The trademark logo could end up
on the packaging of thousands of consumer products worldwide.
"RSPO certification at the
plantation level and the trademark on the end product completes the
loop from upstream to downstream within the supply chain and will
reflect that sustainable oil palm cultivation does not contribute
to the sustained destruction of valuable tropical forests or damage
the interests of people in the regions where the palms are grown,"
Webber concluded.
SOURCE Roundtable on Sustainable
Palm Oil