detail | CODEXALIMENTARIUS FAO-WHO

Title

Progress on standards for fats and oils

Description

The 24th Session of the Committee on Fats and Oils held in Melaka Malaysia from 9-13 February 2013, was attended by 40 Member countries, one Member organization and 5 international organizations.

Three proposals will be forwarded for approval as new work:

· adding palm oil with high oleic acid to the current standard for named vegetable oils;

· amending fatty acid composition and other quality factors of peanut oil (where the current fatty acid composition does not conform to the existing standards);

· introducing an exception for authentic virgin olive oil with a campesterol value deviating from the current limit.

In addition, the draft standard for fish oil will be submitted to the Codex Alimentarius Commission in July for adoption at Step 5.

In terms of review of the Codex list of acceptable previous cargoes, 23 substances were selected for evaluation by FAO and WHO.

Ms Noraini Mohd. Othman the Chair in the conclusion session said:

“By the diligent cooperation and in the spirit of compromise, I am happy to see that we have smoothly deliberated all the agenda items and made excellent progress.”

Codex explained

§ Palm oil is derived from the fleshy mesocarp of the fruit of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). It is traditionally used for deep frying as it is lower in saturated fats. The high-oleic palm oil (OXG) is obtained from hybrids of two species of oil palms and has different characteristics compared with the traditional palm oil. Its inclusion in the standard will facilitate its commercialization.

§ Step 5: If the Commission agrees to adopt at step 5, the standard will go through one more round of comments and discussion in the Committee before the Fats and Oils Committee submits the final version for adoption as a Codex Standard.

§ Previous cargoes: Shipping of edible fats and oils is permitted in bulk tanks, in which substances, included in a positive list, have been previously transported.

§ Campesterol is one of several plant sterols found in a range of edible plants. It is an important parameter for the detection of adulteration of olive oil with other vegetable oils. However, some authentic olive oils may also fall out of the normal campesterol range. The Committee will examine what alternative ways can be found to avoid excluding these oils.