Palm oil
(Last updated September 2011)
What is palm oil?
Palm oil is obtained from the fruit of the African oil palm tree. It flourishes wherever heat and rainfall are abundant.
There have been calls from people and organisations concerned about environmental issues for palm oil to be labelled.
What are the current regulations for labelling palm oil?
Under current regulations palm oil does not have be labelled as palm oil. It can be labelled using generic terms such as ‘vegetable oil’.
FSANZ has previously rejected an application for mandatory labelling of palm oil.
View the rejection document here for information about why the application was rejected.
What are manufacturers doing about palm oil?
Many food manufacturers are voluntarily labelling their products and some companies are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil , which promotes the supply of palm oil sourced from eco‑friendly areas.
You can also check with manufacturers about what type of oil they use.
What is the Government doing about this issue?
In January 2011 an Independent Review of Food Labelling Law and Policy handed down a report that contained a recommendation relating to the labelling of vegetable oils.
A whole-of-government response to that report will be presented to the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council in December this year.
Find the labeling review report here