KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) has lodged a formal complaint and demands that Kraft Heinz stop using the “no palm oil” claim, which goes against the spirit of the Roundtable of Sustainble Palm Oil (RSPO)’s shared responsibility pledge.
“A failure to reverse this violation of the RSPO member’s code of conduct should result in expulsion of Kraft from the RSPO,” MPOA’s chief executive Datuk Mohamad Nageeb Wahab said.
He was referring to Kraft’s recent "Kraft Hazelnut Spread: Can’t Handle it" advertisement.
MPOA said it is unbecoming and unethical for a RSPO member to repeatedly, either intentionally or not, violate the roundtable's code of conduct, for example through its recent advertisement with “no palm oil” labelling.
“The action and stand by Kraft insinuates that the shared objectives of all RSPO members, namely, to promote the production of and use/uptake of sustainable palm oil, is secondary, and that they do not wish to join the common objectives of promoting sustainably produced palm oil.
“The growers look at this as first-class hypocrisy and, if this continues, we see no reason to be an RSPO member,” Nageeb said.
He said the RSPO has developed a set of environmental and social criteria that companies must comply with in order to produce certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO).
“When they are properly applied, these criteria can help minimise the negative impact of palm oil cultivation on the environment and communities in palm oil-producing regions.”
The RSPO, which has more than 4,000 members worldwide representing all links along the palm oil supply chain, is committed to producing, sourcing and/or using sustainable palm oil certified by the RSPO. – Bernama, November 28, 2020
