The Union Consumer Affairs Department has made standard pack sizes mandatory for edible oils under the Legal Metallurgy Framework. This will help consumers to compare prices of different brands of edible oils and make informed decisions. Therefore, the department has amended the SOP to determine net quantity and standard pack size. Edible oil companies and importers have been given three months to comply with the rules.
As per the SOP, edible oil brands in the country will be available in nine standard pack sizes. The rules will be applicable to palm oil, soybean, sunflower, mustard, almond, rice bran, safflower, cottonseed and corn oil. The rules will also be applicable to blended edible oils. Edible oil will be available in 200 mg, 500 ml, 1 liter, 2 liters, 3 liters, 4 liters, 5 liters, 15 liters and 20 liters. Similarly, the amount of oil in the packet will also have to be clearly displayed.
The same rules will be applicable to edible oil produced in the country and imported from abroad. The government has relaxed the rules for small packets. Packets weighing less than 200 ml or 200 grams have been excluded from the standard pack size rules. Similarly, oils that are used less often have been excluded from this rule. Companies that want to adopt the new rules on an accelerated basis can adopt it. This decision has been taken with the consent of 90% of the industry representatives. Indian Vegetable Producers Association President Sudhakar Desai has welcomed this rule of the government. He said that this will provide a level playing field to all companies. The industry was affected due to the irregularity of the packet size.
