Coconut growers in the region have demanded a ban on import of palm kernel oil to prevent adulteration of coconut oil.According to industry sources, price competition is the cause for adulteration. Unadulterated coconut oil cannot be sold for less than Rs. 170 per litre, whereas adulterated oil under brand names are being sold for Rs. 40 to Rs. 50 less, the sources said.
T.A. Krishnasamy, United Coconut Growers Association of South India, told The Hindu that in some brands, adulteration was up to 70 per cent. Adulteration using palm oil was easy because it was colourless and odourless, he explained.
Coconut growers, Mr. Krishnasamy said, were upset with the the Centre for not following what Atal Behari Vajpayee’s government had laid down — it had banned the import of palm kernel.
“The Congress-led government that came to power after the NDA government lifted the restriction and the present BJP government did not care to restore the ban,” said Mr. Krishnasamy.
Farmers are also sore with the State government for extending 25 per cent subsidy for palm kernel import made through the Chennai and Tuticorin ports, he said.
Kerala, where coconut oil consumption is highest in India, has been tough in dealing with adulteration.
Earlier this year, the Food Safety Department in Kerala banned nine brands of coconut oil from the market after detecting adulteration with palm kernel oil.
Due to availability of adulterated coconut oil at low prices, coconut is procured cheaply by the mills, Mr. Krishnasamy said.
Vested interests in tandem with the medical fraternity kept the demand for coconut oil low.
He said consumption of pure coconut oil was healthy for the body. He faulted the lobby of other edible oils for prevailing upon the medical fraternity in Tamil Nadu to create an impression that saturated fats in coconut oil raises cholesterol levels.
“The medical fraternity has, in fact, begun to accept the utility of pure coconut oil. If used for consumption without adulteration, coconut oil is indeed good for the body,” C.N. Raja, State Honorary Secretary, Indian Medical Association, Tamil Nadu Branch, said.
