Ukraine restricts the use of palm oil in food products (amended)

Today, on September 4, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the second reading and in general a draft law that bans the use of palm oil in food, including baby food (No. 5148).

According to the parliament’s website, the draft law “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Improving the Quality of Food Products Consumed by Children” was supported by 293 MPs.

“The draft law proposes to amend the Law of Ukraine ‘On Milk and Dairy Products’ and clarify that palm oil, along with other fats and proteins of non-dairy origin, is prohibited for use in the production of traditional dairy products. It is also proposed to prohibit the use of hydrogenated palm oil and hydrogenated vegetable fats, sesame seed oil and/or flax seed oil, gluten, as well as ingredients produced with the use of pesticides in the production of baby food,” the explanatory note to the document says.

In addition, the document proposes to define the maximum content of trans fatty acids in food products, as well as to oblige market operators to provide information on the amount of trans fatty acids in such products when supplying food products to other manufacturers.

The amendments to the Law “On Basic Principles and Requirements for Food Safety and Quality” propose to prohibit the use of hydrogenated palm oil, dairy products with the addition of hydrogenated vegetable fats in the production of baby food and traditional food products, confectionery, including cocoa, chocolate and products containing chocolate, and ice cream.

Violation of the law is punishable by a fine of 40 minimum wages for legal entities and 25 minimum wages for individual entrepreneurs. As of today, this amounts to UAH 320 thousand and UAH 200 thousand, respectively.

Amended: In the first reading version, the proposed regulations contained wording mentioning palm oil, but in the course of preparing the draft law for the second reading, this phrase was removed throughout. The Verkhovna Rada has banned the use of hydrogenated vegetable fats and oils in food production if the content of trans fatty acids other than those naturally occurring in animal fats exceeds 2 grams per 100 grams of total fat in the product.

Tags: Ukraine, palm oil, legislation, food, restrictions