KUALA LUMPUR – Retailers, wholesalers and importers have been warned not to violate regulations against packaging and labelling that carry anti-palm oil descriptions, Plantations and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said.
He said the Trade Descriptions (Prohibition of Use of Statement, Expression or Indication) (Palm Oil and Palm Oil Goods) Regulations 2022 would be enforced strictly to protect products with palm oil from discrimination.
Johari also said the Customs Department will be asked to be stricter and more thorough when inspecting imported goods to identify products with labels that denounce palm oil.
For the time being, retailers may cover anti-palm oil descriptions on products, but going forward, he said Customs must be more stringent in their checks on imported goods.
“I want retailers, importers and distributors to understand the severity of this issue. They can ‘tampal’ (cover) if they have a lot of stock (left)… (so that) you don’t show any message that discriminates against palm oil.
“We will also inform Customs to be stricter, we will write to them about (enforcing the regulations).
“In the past, the checks were not that active but I’ve mentioned in a cabinet meeting that it is important to enforce this law efficiently from the import to retail stage to ensure no one discriminates against our palm oil products,” Johari said at Menara Dato Onn before attending an Umno meeting this afternoon.
He said there was an “aggressive” campaign overseas calling for a boycott of palm oil, of which Malaysia is the second largest producer in the world.
Johari was commenting on the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry’s announcement earlier today that it had seized RM897.60 worth of ice cream from a convenience store in Precinct 3, Putrajaya, because the plastic packaging contained the words “no palm oil”.
Such labelling is a violation of the regulations that came into force in 2022, which prohibit any advertisement, statement, expression or indication from discriminating against or boycotting any oil palm product or palm oil goods.
It is also an offence to discourage, forbid, hinder or influence any person within a business or trade context from using or consuming any oil palm product or palm oil goods.
This would include labels or statements that say, “does not contain palm oil” and “free from palm oil”, state the regulations.
If convicted, the party concerned can be fined not more than RM250,000 or imprisoned for a period not exceeding five years.
Thanking the Domestic Trade Ministry’s for its actions, Johari said the ice cream seized was a “foreign product”, adding that some “high-end supermarkets” here sell products with “no palm oil” labelling, including biscuits.
He declined to reveal the names of these supermarkets, saying it was sufficient to make retailers aware of the regulations.
Photos from the Domestic Trade Ministry today of the raid showed that the ice cream was made in New Zealand. – May 3, 2024