Malaysian Palm Oil – An Informed Choice

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) has launched a mark of provenance and an information campaign entitled ‘They say everything and anything at all about Malaysian palm oil’. It was launched in France and Belgium on Sept 7 to combat preconceived ideas about palm oil.

Palm oil is Malaysia’s fourth-biggest economic resource, contributing 8.3% of its exports. It is also the most-consumed edible oil in the world. A key product in responding to the needs of the food-processing industry, it today accounts for 35% of the global vegetable oil market.

However, a great many untruths circulate about palm oil. Consumers hear everything and anything at all regarding its purported impact on nutrition, health, the environment, and economic and sustainable development in Asia and Africa.

The campaign is intended to better inform consumers, to respond to controversies and to promote what Malaysians see as an emblematic product. It is based on transparency and openness that will showcase the initiatives and efforts being made to enable the industry to progress towards more sustainable and more responsible production of palm oil.

Malaysian palm oil, already a world leader, continues to improve with ambitious plans on many fronts:

• In terms of the environment, it builds on a shared determination to optimise management of forest resources and protect endangered species.
• In terms of consumer health, it takes advantage of continuous research to improve a product whose properties are still not well understood – but which Malaysians refuse to modify through use of genetic modification technology.
• As a socially responsible industry, it enables a large number of small producers to move up into the middle class thanks to higher and more reliable income. It also provides effective, modern infrastructure such as schools, health clinics and roads for plantation communities.

The campaign orchestrated by Havas Paris invites every consumer to form their own opinion about Malaysian palm oil. It relies on the curiosity and exacting standards of the consumer, who is invited to view the original and informative content made available on the malaysianpalmoil.info website. The main features are:

• A series of five amusing and colourful illustrations that take a playful look at a number of widespread myths as a way of challenging them; and
• A quiz contest, with the prize being a study trip to Malaysia.