A woman inspects a bottle of Noble peanut oil at a supermarket in Yangon on July 18. Peanut and sesame oils made with the Noble, Aung and La Nagar brands were found to contain traces of palm oil, the Ministry of Health announced on July 12 after testing a sample range of oils on the market.

COOKING oil dealers have welcomed research by the Ministry of Health in which three peanut oil brands on the market failed quality tests, adding they hoped action would be taken against the companies concerned in order to protect the market’s integrity.

On July 12, the ministry announced the Noble brand of peanut oil and the Aung and La Nagar brands of peanut and sesame seed oil contained palm oil – a cheaper cooking oil that is higher in cholesterol.

In a statement printed in government newspapers, the ministry said four other producers making brandless cooking oil also failed to meet labelling standards and legal action would be taken against all seven companies responsible.

Noble, one of the three brands identified, had been one of the most popular of about 20 varieties of peanut oil in the market.

U Khin Soe, owner of the Ayeyarwady peanut oil company, hailed the findings and said he hoped authorities would regularly investigate consumer goods to root out unscrupulous producers.

“It is the best way to prevent dishonest producers from taking improper actions,” he said. “But the recent move by the government isn’t enough to stop all such producers because there are so many that are behaving dishonestly.”

U Khin Soe, who has been in the industry since 1992, estimated that 80 percent of bottled peanut oil on the market had been mixed with palm or other vegetable oils that are not identified as ingredients.

“Checking the quality of cooking oil is important because it could be unsafe for consumers,” he said. “But I would like to know exactly what action the authorities are going to take against those producers, instead of them just saying they will take action.”

Some retailers in Yangon said last week that sales of the brands identified by the Ministry of Health had fallen sharply, with some saying the producers concerned had informed them they would pull their cooking oil off shop shelves.

“On July 15, Noble told us that they are going to withdraw their bottles but so far they haven’t started to,” the manager of one large supermarket in Yangon said on July 18, requesting that the store not be identified.

“They also said they’re going to produce quality peanut oil again and after this they would redistribute,” she said.

Management of Noble, Aung and La Nagar declined to comment when contacted by The Myanmar Times last week.

According to the statement from the Ministry of Health, cooking oil producers are required to label their bottles with a brand name, the type and quantity of oil contained, a list of ingredients, the producer’s name and the manufacturing date.

U Aung Than Oo, general manager of Amay Htwar Peanut Oil Production, said it was common for consumers to request a blend of peanut and palm oils as a way of cutting costs.

“If producers label their bottles as containing a particular type of cooking oil, then it really must contain that oil and not be mixed with other types of oil,” U Aung Than Oo said.

“But if we aren’t selling cooking oil in a bottle, it’s the customer’s choice. If they want to mix peanut oil with palm oil we have to do it and it shouldn’t be our concern.”

Both U Aung Than Oo and U Khin Soe said it was unlikely the ministry’s findings would deter consumers from buying cooking oil, a staple of the Myanmar diet.

Sales for their own brands had remained steady, they said.
Peanut oil was retailing for about K3800 per viss in Yangon last week. Palm oil was around K2200 per viss.