Govt orders edible oil firms to declare correct quantity on labels; Here is WHY

New Delhi: The union government has advised the edible oil manufacturers, packers, and importers to declare net quantity on packages in volume without temperature in addition to declaring the same in weight, as per an official statement released on Thursday.

They have also been advised by the department of Consumer Affairs to correct their labeling of declaring net quantity in the units of volume without mentioning temperature with weight of the product, within six months from the date of the direction issued i.e. upto January 15, 2023, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said in a statement.

Under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, it is mandatory to declare the net quantity in terms of standard units of weight or measure apart from other declarations on all pre-packaged commodities in the interest of consumers.

As per the provisions made under the rules the net quantity of edible oil, vanaspati ghee, etc. needs to be declared either in weight or volume and if declared in volume, then the equivalent weight of the commodity mandatorily to be declared. It is observed that industries are proactively mentioning temperature while declaring the net quantity in volume, the ministry said.

The manufacturers/ packers/ importers are declaring net quantity of edible oil etc in volume mentioning the temperature at the time of packing along with the units of mass. Few manufacturers were depicting the temperature as high as 600C. It has been observed that such declaration of net quantity of edible oil, vanaspati ghee etc in terms of volume keeping the volume fixed (for example 1 litre) at different temperatures with mass, which differs, when the packaging mentions a higher temperature. The weight of soyabean edible oil may be different at different temperatures.

Therefore, the weight of edible oil is different at different temperatures. Hence, to ensure that the consumer gets the correct quantity in the package at the time of purchase, the manufacturers/ packers/ importers of edible oil etc have been advised to pack the said products without mentioning temperature and to ensure that the quantity declared on the package in volume and mass should be correct, the ministry said.