Super palm oil being sold as loose soybean at higher rate
Loose soybean oil itself unhealth and its sale has been banned
Many traders are selling super palm oil in the name of loose soybean oil in the kitchen markets leaving no trace of their whereabouts, said the Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection chief at a meeting on Monday.
With these false declarations, the traders are also charging Tk15-20 extra per litre of loose soybean oil, said AHM Shafiquzzaman, director general of the directorate. Loose soybean oil is itself less healthy than packaged or bottled oil with lower vitamin A content, poor storage records and potential insect contamination due to open air storing.
In light of these issues, the government banned its sale from 1 August, and the directorate of consumer rights is working to enforce this ban.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Despite its low nutrients and possible unhygienic content, loose soybean oil is still favoured over packaged oil in certain segments of consumer markets, thanks to its cheaper rate and better supply chain set-up in the country. Edible oil manufacturing and marketing companies do not have enough production capacity to meet the full domestic edible oil demand with packaged or bottled products.
AHM Shafiquzzaman took into account the production limitations and advised companies to focus on producing low-cost small bottles, pouch packs and minipacks.
He also urged low-income consumers to purchase the packaged product as its health benefits outweigh the cost advantage of loose oil.
S Alam Group's representatives said that it is difficult to meet the 100% demand of edible oil with packaged or bottled products with their present capacity. Meghna Group and City Group representatives said they are united in efforts to stop loose edible oil marketing, but needs time to scale production capacity for taking the challenge.
At the meeting, the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute presented a survey where it showed that about 52% of the country's loose oil do not have adequate vitamin A. The survey was conducted between July 2022 and June 2023. The survey highlights that the 2013 law on ensuring proper vitamin A content in edible oils has not been implemented even though a decade has passed.
