Sunflower oil still on product labels (even though it’s no longer in them)
It wasn’t an empty warning or prediction: sunflower oil has indeed become virtually impossible to find on supermarket shelves due to the war in Ukraine. (At least not in the regular supermarkets I visit frequently.) There are plenty of alternatives to sunflower oil, and when you’re standing in front of the shelf, it’s easy to choose another type of oil. But sunflower oil was also used in an enormous number of other products; what about those?
Food producers that use sunflower oil in their products will naturally run out of supplies too. Think margarine, biscuits, mayonnaise, baby food… They will therefore also have to switch to other oils. But is the entire production chain prepared or equipped for that? At least one link isn’t: the labels.
Supervision and enforcement
Normally, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) must check and enforce that a label states exactly what is in a product. But Frans Claassen, director of MVO, the industry association for oils and fats, tells news platform Nu.nl that it will take months before labels are adapted for products made with an oil other than sunflower oil. It is generally used in as many as two thousand different products sold in supermarkets. This will certainly be a problem in cases where the label is part of the packaging (such as with margarine), he tells the platform.
Nothing can be done for now
The NVWA responds as follows: “This is a case of force majeure. Therefore, we will temporarily not enforce the rules if companies sell products whose labels are incorrect due to the shortage of sunflower oil.”
Stickers
Should you be concerned if, for example, you have severe food allergies? According to Claassen, that isn’t necessary, because if allergens are involved, consumers will be informed by a warning sticker on the packaging. The NVWA will ensure that food safety is not put at any risk.
Interchangeable
Claassen also tells Nu.nl that although alternatives such as rapeseed oil, palm oil or soybean oil can be used interchangeably with sunflower oil (because they are all refined first), it will still be a challenge to determine exactly how they should be processed in the various products. But according to him, people will notice little difference in taste.
Also read:
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Source: Nu.nl
