Malaysian Palm Oil Council highlights the benefits of Palm Oil with Indian Consumers at Hyderabad
- An enriching and informative consumer interaction on health and nutritional benefits of Palm Oil
The workshop was attended by a variety of target consumers ranging from homemakers to chefs, entrepreneurs, direct institutional customers, distributors and a number of experts and specialists from the industry, who presented at the event and shared their knowledge on palm oil, its benefits and its application in our daily life, especially in food.
Prof. Dr. Ketan Mehta, MD (Med), FCPS, FICP, FISE, FGSI, commenced the interaction with his perspective on how small changes in diet can make a huge difference. Bringing into the picture his experience as a practicing Cardiopulmonologist & Diabetologist at trusted hospitals across Mumbai, he opined “Making good choices can make a huge difference to the health of your heart. Palm Oil is rich in Vitamin E. The absence of trans fat makes it a viable and appropriate choice for cooking in India where lifestyle diseases are on the rise.” He also opined that it was rare for any other cooking oil to provide the nutritional balance that Palm Oil provides. “The human body requires many different nutrients to maintain a healthy balance. Most cooking oils will not contain all the required ingredients whereas Palm Oil provides a good balance of such nutrients”.
This was followed by a presentation on Malaysian Palm Oil and MPOC, by Ms. Bhavna Shah, Regional Head of MPOC – India, Bangladesh, Nepal & Sri Lanka. Ms. Shah provided the participants with information on Malaysian Palm Oil and its products. She also imparted information to the attendees on various technological and economic advantages and environmental sustainability undertaken by MPOC.
Speaking at the occasion, Ms. Shah said, “It gives me immense pleasure to share knowledge about Malaysian Palm Oil and the work undertaken by MPOC which provides economic opportunities and balances our responsibility towards the environment. We are thankful to all the experts and specialists from across the industry at the interaction. We also look forward to sharing the nutritional benefits of palm oil through such interactions in the future. Malaysia’s Palm Oil industry is over 100 years old and built on trust among all stakeholders which have grown in number as this journey has progressed. We look forward to participants at this and future events building a mutually beneficial and collaborative relationship with Malaysia and the MPOC”.
The event was concluded by a presentation by Dr. Meena Mehta, Associate Retired Professor in Food Science and Nutrition and a Senior Nutritionist. She cautioned that urban India’s diet was showing an emerging unhealthy trend and it is the likely link between rise in cases of cardiovascular and other diseases. “Small changes in lifestyle go a long way towards stepping back from long term damage”. Dr Meena in her role as Vice President of the Indian Dietetic Association also took some questions on how food plays a major role in alleviating other lifestyle disorders and hence advocated for a healthy switch towards alternatives such as Palm Oil.
