KLANG: Subsidised cooking oil sold in 1kg polybags are not recycled products and is on par with cooking oil in bottles.
In debunking the myth that recycled cooking oil was used to produce the subsidised oil, capped at RM2.50 per packet by the government, Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said it was not economical for industry players to opt for such practice.
“From what we gather, it is more costly for manufacturer and repackers to purchase used cooking oil and process them.
“Even if they do, the industry players would not be able to sell them at RM2.50 per kilogram.
“I have also not found any recycled cooking oil being sold in the market as claimed,” he said earlier today.
Hamzah spoke to reporters after leading a team of law enforcers to conduct checks on wholesalers in Meru and a repacking company in Klang Utama.
He said the government has maintained that the standard cooking oil sold in the country must be of cloud point (CP) 8 and below.
Hamzah added that most of the cooking oil sold in Malaysia (both in polybags and bottles) are of CP8 and CP7 while only several products offer CP6, which cost more to produce and are sold at higher prices.
Meanwhile, Soon Hup Edible Oil Sdn Bhd general manager Lee Chong Hua said the price of refined cooking oil in Malaysia is quite low, making the recycling practice just not cost-efficient at all.
“It is different in China where refined cooking oil in a 5kg bottle can go for about RM70, which is why there is a demand for recycled products there. Here one bottle is sold for about RM20.
“The cost for the recycling process, which includes the use of chemicals to make the substance clear, is high, besides that it is not good for health.
“I had been in this industry since 2004 and I have not known of any company that recycles cooking oil,” he said when met after a KPDNKK operation at the company’s factory in Klang Utama.