The European Union has already passed a regulation setting a ceiling for the content of glycidyl fatty acid esters, or GEs, in oils and fats. It is now in the process of setting another ceiling that will cap the level of 3-MCPD esters at 2.5 ppm as a safe limit for palm oil.
3-MCPD esters are chemical food contaminants that are suspected to be carcinogenic. Besides the European Union, the United States has already defined the maximum limit values for this compound in food and as a result, food producers are demanding the lowest possible concentration in refined oils, especially in palm oil which has a comparably high content of 3-MCPD.
Indonesia is the world’s largest palm oil producer and exporter and its industry should ready itself to meet those health requirements, not for the sake of the European or US market but for the general health and wellbeing of consumers. The reduction of 3-MCPD esters and GEs should now become a high priority for the oil and fats industry.
In order to help the country’s oil and fat producers to understand and mitigate the formation of 3-MCPD and GEs in their products, the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) is organizing a “Forum on 3-MCPD and GE in Jakarta on February 7, 2020. The forum is expected to provide a platform for sharing of information and lesson-learned on works currently being undertaken to mitigate the formation of 3-MCPD and GE throughout the supply chain industries.
During the intensive one-day event, experts will share how producers and any other parties, can identify what technology would suit their operation better in further reducing the 3-MCPD and GE levels in various stages of palm oil production, from upstream, midstream to downstream. Besides providing valuable insights into these organic chemical compounds, the forum will hear experts expound on various topics of discussion on the science, regulatory aspects, research & development of 3-MCPD and GE.
A number of technology providers would be on hand at the forum to help participants get the necessary information they need through one-to-one sessions.
The forum is free to attend but a registration is necessary. The registration closes on February 3, 2020.