Belgian Government To Educate Supermarkets On Benefits Of Palm Oil - Reynders

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- The Belgian government will educate several of its major supermarkets, which are currently on an anti-palm oil movement in Belgium, on the health and nutritional benefits of palm oil. Its Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders said: "We will provide more knowledge and share information on palm oil with the consumers, since we have visited some palm oil factories and discussed with the relevant authorities." He made these comments when asked on reports that some major Belgian supermarkets had launched a campaign called 'without palm oil', whereby a label with this statement is placed on food products. Reynders, who is also the Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Minister, said the Belgian government viewed the import of palm oil as very important since many Belgian companies are involved in this sector in Malaysia. "We will send a clear message, and give all the possible information to the government. We will do similar to how the Malaysian government sends its message on sugar consumption to the people," he said. Recently, the National Association of Smallholders secretary-general Zulkifli Mohd Nizam said the move would have a negative influence on Belgian consumers and claimed the main culprits behind the campaign were several food corporations in Belgium. Reynder is part of Belgium's biggest economic delegation to Malaysia, led by Princess Astrid, from Nov 22-26, that aims to focus on reinforcing business and economic ties between the two countries. Last Friday, Belgian ambassador to Malaysia Daniel Dargent said Belgium was committed to importing more palm oil from Malaysia for its food industry and was interested in further collaborations with Malaysia in the palm oil industry. He pointed out that a leading Belgian company, Oleon NV, had undertaken investments in Malaysia's oleochemical sector, which uses processed palm oil for producing downstream products. --BERNAMA