Edible oils from Felda IFFCO

26 January 2016

Felda IFFCO Sdn. Bhd., a joint venture between Felda, Malaysia’s leading global agribusiness and world’s largest producers of edible oils, including crude palm oil, and IFFCO, an established global innovative and integrated multi-food products company.
The joint venture has allowed both companies to reap the benefits. A significant advantage is access to greater resources including specialist staff, technology and finance. As a result, the company has grown to become UAE’s leading manufacturer and marketer of a wide variety of FMCG products and industrial ingredients.
One of the core ingredients produced, branded and distributed is palm oil. Palm oil is a staple ingredient, relied on by many manufacturers of FMCG products including margarine, biscuits, chocolate, ice-cream, bread and shampoo. At present, research estimates that about half of all packaged items in supermarkets contain palm oil. By 2020, as a result of an increasing world population and growing affluence in countries in emerging economies like China and India, there will be increased consumption of manufactured goods thus the use of palm oil is forecast to double.
Many of the manufacturers of these products either already produce, or are interested in producing, kosher retail products. As a result it is important for palm oil producers to obtain kosher certification in order to win the most business.
Palm oil has sparked numerous discussions over the years due to the trade-off between economic growth and rural development against its undoubted role in deforestation and negative impact on many endangered species.
More recently, palm oil production has expanded in Malaysia, where Felda IFFCO’s factory is located. According to the WWF roughly a fifth of this expansion has resulted in large amounts of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere causing a significant impact on climate change.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) sets standards for producing palm oil in order to harness the positive impact of producing palm oil. Felda has been an active member of the RSPO for over 10 years. By only manufacturing certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) Felda IFFCO is able to help stop the destruction of forests as well as ensuring the plantations are managed according to strict environmental, social and economic standards. In this way, Felda IFFCO can create a source of income for the local area creating a livelihood for local communities and assisting people out of the poverty cycle.
Felda is unique in that they are the world’s first small-holder organisation to attain the RSPO certification, which in the past has only been achieved by major companies in Malaysia and Indonesia.
KLBD is proud to have been Felda IFFCO’s kosher certification agency for over 10 years, certifying a range of ingredients including palm oil and other edible oils and fats.