KUALA LUMPUR, 30 May 2023 – Palm tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) which is vitamin E sourced from palm oil with a high tocotrienol content, has been gazetted as vitamin E under the classification as an additional nutrient allowed for food products.
Chairman of Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Mohamad Helmy Othman Basha said the certification of this nutrient function claim was approved by the Ministry of Health Malaysia (KKM) following in-depth technical reviews and supported by the latest evidence from clinical studies and population studies.
“This nutrient function claim can be used for food products that contain at least 10 milligrams per 100 millilitres of TRF for liquid food, or containing at least 10 milligrams per 100 grams of TRF for solid food,” he said at the Media Appreciation Ceremony organised by MPOB recently.
TRF has many benefits and among them, it is an antioxidant that can help reduce oxidative stress and can also help improve cognitive functions.
“With this announcement, food processing manufacturers that use palm-based tocotrienol can now label their products with this TRF functional claim. It is attractive to consumers, thereby increasing public awareness of the various benefits of TRF on consumer health through their products,” he said.
According to him, all parties in the palm oil production chain need to commit to improving the quality of the country’s palm oil production by eliminating the content of trans fatty acids (TFA) in food products, including by using palm oil as a source of fat and oil in their products.
He explained that the approval of the Ministry of Health is in line with the call of the World Health Organization (WHO) for all countries to eliminate the content of trans fatty acids from food products, in order to improve the quality of life, especially in the global health aspect in the fight against heart-related diseases or better known as cardiovascular diseases.
“This implementation is expected to help deal with the rate of trans fatty acid production by the national food industry with the limit of fatty acid intake in edible oil and fat not exceeding 0.5 grams per 100 millilitres of liquid or 100 grams of solid, while, not exceeding 0.1 grams per 100 millilitres of liquid or 100 grams of solid in the content of other foods in order to make a trans fatty acid-free claim,” he added.
— Akses Malaysia
