Kochi, Feb 26:
Kerala Food Safety authorities have commenced inspection of coconut oil
arriving from Tamil Nadu following the reports of adulteration with palm
kernel oil.
Thalath Mahamood, former President, Cochin Oil Merchants Association (COMA), told Business Line that
the officials had started collecting coconut oil samples for a random
inspection from traders in Ernakulam on Tuesday in the backdrop of
complaints that spurious coconut oil mixed with palm kernel are landing
in various parts of the State.
However, he said that this is happening notwithstanding the fact that
Kerala was also receiving good quality oil from Tamil Nadu and only a
few players were involved in the adulteration.
He said that around 30-40 tankers each are coming to the State from
Tamil Nadu every day and traders are complaining on the inferior quality
of oil.When contacted, a senior official in the Food Safety Authority
said that they have set up separate teams in Kochi, Kozhikode and
Thiruvananthapuram based on a complaints from Kerafed on coconut oil
adulteration.
The team, he said, has collected samples from traders and they will be
sent for further inspection. Since the labs in Kerala are not equipped
to test the level of adulteration, the samples will be sent to labs
accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and
Calibration Laboratories.
Meanwhile, the coconut oil market in Kerala and Tamil Nadu is witnessing
a weak trend with the commencement of copra season. Prices in Kerala
declined to Rs 63 a kg (Rs 65), while rates quoted in Tamil Nadu were Rs
60 against last week’s Rs 63.
Simultaneously, copra prices dropped to Rs 4,500 a quintal in Kerala (Rs 4,700) and Rs 4,350 in Tamil Nadu (Rs 4,600).
Prakash B.Rao, Vice-President, COMA, said that the market is witnessing a
selling trend and this coupled with lack of industrial demand is
affecting the market badly.
Prices are expected to drop in the coming weeks due to heavy arrivals of
copra, especially from Kannur, Kasargod and Malappuram districts.
Other edible oils such as palm oil and palm kernel oil remained at the
same level quoted last week at Rs 52 and Rs 53 a kg respectively, he
added.
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