Parliament Question: Use of Palm Oil

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4320 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18TII MARCH, 2026 USE OF PALM OIL t4320. DR. ANAND KUMAR: Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a): whether the Government is aware of the extensive use of palm oil in various food products including bakery items and it is a fact that palm oil is harmful to health and is subject to partial bans in several developing countries; (b): if so, the total availability and estimated consumption of palm oil in the country; (c): whether any study has been conducted on the health impacts of palm oil consumption and if so, the major findings thereof; and (d): the steps being taken by the Government to ensure the quality, safety and proper labelling of palm oil in food processing cosmetics, biofuels and to encourage healthy and sustainable alternatives? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA) (a) & (d): FSS AI has notified Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulation, 2011 which specifies the Food Products standards of various food products including bakery items. Sub regulation 2.2 of the aforementioned regulation specifies food product standards for Fats, oils and Fat emulsions including edible oils to be used in food wherein Palm oil is a standardized product under Sub-regulation 2.2.1(19). Further, Palm oil being a standardized edible oil is permitted in the food items like bakery items as edible oil ingredient as per Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulation, 2011.The sub regulation 5(2)(d) of Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, specified that " A specific name shall be used for ingredients in the list of ingredients" and for ingredients falling in the class name 'Edible vegetable oil' shall give the name of the specific edible oil such as mustard oil, groundnut oil, etc. In addition, the sub-regulation 5(1) of the said Regulations prescribes the requirement wherein it is mentioned that 'every package of food shall carry name of the food which indicate the true nature of the food contained in the package” FSS AI has also established a network of food testing laboratories across India for the analysis of food to ensure the compliance with the quality and safety standards. FSS AI has notified 246 NABL-accredited laboratories to carry out testing of food samples. There are 24 Referral Food Laboratories for the analysis of appellate samples. These labs serve as appellate laboratories when there is a dispute or appeal regarding test results from primary labs. Further, the FSS AI has also published a comprehensive set of resources for food safety and analysis, including manuals on Methods of Analysis of various Foods commodities such as Oils and Fats However, The State Food Safety Authorities are primarily responsible for enforcement and implementation of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 at the field level. Regular surveillance drives, monitoring, regulatory inspection and random sampling of various food products including bakery items are conducted throughout the year by the officials of Food Safety Departments of the respective States/UTs to check compliance with the quality and safety parameters and other requirements as laid down under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Regulations made thereunder. Any Food Business Operators (FBOs) found in contravention of the provisions of the FSS Act, 2006, and Regulations made thereunder will face penal actions as per the provisions outlined in Chapter IX (Offences and Penalties) of the FSS Act, 2006. (b): Total availability and estimated consumption of palm oil in the country are annexed in annexure-I(c): Human metabolic studies conducted at ICMR-NIN demonstrated that, in a cereal based diet containing 30% total fat calories and low cholesterol, palmolein (liquid fraction of palm oil) is comparable to groundnut oil and does not induce hypercholesterolernia. Meta analysis of several clinical trials conducted from 1975 to 2018 also showed that, compared to other commonly consumed vegetable oils, palmolein consumption did not alter total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, or the total cholesterol/HDL ratio. SeSeScS eqeSqAnnexure-I Total Availability / Consumption of Palm Oil in the country (LIWT) Net Availability/ 2024-25 Import Consumption (Oil Year, Nov - Oct) B (A + B) Crude Palm Oil 64.66 68.56 RBD Palmolein 10.51 10.51 Total 79.07 Source – DSVO, DGCIS