HEALTH POLICIES CONCERNING REDUCTION OF PALM OIL INTAKE: IRAN’S EXPERIENCE

Background and Aim: Cheap price, neutral smell and long shelf life along with desirable technical qualities are as the most favorable reasons for widespread use of palm oil in food industry. Palm oil contains a high amount of saturated fat (40–50% of total fat) with the majority being in the form of palmitic acid. It has been shown that a high intake of saturated fatty acids, particularly myristic acid, lauric acid and palmitic acid, is associated with increased levels of LDL cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. The purpose of the present study was to investigate health policies concerning intake of palm oil in Iran.Methods: All of national programs and legislations on controlling intake of palm oil in Iran were investigated.Results: Two policies were found targeting intake of palm oil in Iran. Iran increases tax for palm oil to 40%, while other vegetable oils are taxed 24%. Furthermore, palm oil import limited to 30% of the import of edible oils. Therefore, these policies resulted in the import of palm oil from 997,000 tons in 2013 to 330,970 tons in 2015.Conclusion: Although there are no exact figures on the consumption of palm oil in Iran’s food industry, however per capita consumption of palm oil is still higher than world standard rates which should be planned to be moderated over the next few years. A key policy priority should therefore be to plan for developing palm-free food products.

Keywords:

Palm oil , Policy , Legislation , Tax