The Hindu Business Line : Scientists for Jakarta to study carotenoid content in palm oil

FOLLOWING intense pressure mounted by the palm oil importers' lobby and with a view to bringing the vexed `carotenoid content in crude palm oil' issue to a finale, the Government has decided to conduct an on-the-spot study at the point of production and shipment.

For this purpose, a three-member delegation of scientists from Regional Research Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram (RRL) is scheduled to visit Indonesia, the main supplier of crude palm oil and crude palmolein to the country. The visit will last 14 days.

The RRL scientists are expected to go to the port of loading and draw samples from export consignments. These samples would be analysed for various quality parameters, including carotenoid content.

Both shore-tank and ship-tank samples are to be drawn for the purpose of analysis.

In addition, the delegation would visit palm oil mills and draw samples at the point of production.

The effect of ocean voyage and whether the level of carotene decreases over time and by how much would also be examined.

Confirming the news of the Centre's clearance for the visit, Prof T.K. Chandrasekhar, Director of RRL, told Business Line that the Indian Embassy in Jakarta would co-ordinate the tour and organise meetings for the Indian scientists with producers and shippers.

According to an oil technologist, the consignments of crude and refined palmoils coming into the country show little difference in quality standards, raising doubts about the declaration of cargo quality.

The Government has imposed a Customs duty of 65 per cent on crude palm oil with a condition that the carotene content should be not less than 500 parts per million. On refined oil, the rate of duty is 75 per cent.

The Government was forced to impose the carotenoid stipulation last year following the expose that some importers were engaging in misdeclaration of refined oil as crude oil to take advantage of the duty differential.

Earlier, it was RRL that studied the palm oil quality issue in-depth and found carotene content to be the critical differentiating feature between crude and refined palm oils. Importers have been claiming that carotene is not stable and that in palm oil it decreases over time and when heated in tanks.

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