Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Soybean Processors Association of India, (SOPA) has expressed strong concern regarding a recent post of the Food Safety and Standard and Authority of India (FSSAI) promoting olive oil as an example of healthy cooking oil.
In a letter to chairman of FSSAI, executive director of SOPA DN Pathak, while lauding the government’s efforts to encourage healthy dietary practices and the important advice not to reuse cooking oil multiple times, said that specific mention of olive oil as an example of a healthy cooking medium raised serious issues.
Pathak said that olive oil was one of the most expensive edible oils in India. It was consumed only by a very small section of affluent society. The vast majority of the population could not afford it. India produced and consumed a wide range of edible oils including soybean, mustard, groundnut, sunflower and rice bran among others.
To single out olive oil as ‘healthy’ created a misleading impression and undermined confidence in other oils. The true focus of health messaging should be on proper usage of cooking oils, particularly avoiding reuse of oil after frying, as this deteriorates the quality and generates harmful compounds. This should have been the central message.
Pathak said that since olive oil was largely imported, promoting it selectively over domestically produced oils created the perception of influence by vested interests, which was inappropriate for a public regulatory authority.
SOPA said that as the apex food regulator, communications from FSSAI must remain impartial, evidence-based and in the larger interest of both consumers and the domestic edible oil sector.
SOPA has requested the FSSAI to withdraw the post from social media platform X immediately, as it promoted one specific oil at the expense of others and to issue a clarification affirming that all edible oils available in India were safe and healthy when consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet.
