The union government has urged edible oil manufacturers, packers, and importers to state net quantity on packages in volume without temperature as well as weight. Under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, it is compulsory 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.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said that the firms have been directed by the department of Consumer Affairs to correct their labelling by declaring net quantity in the units of volume without stating temperature with weight of the product, within six months from the date of the direction issued, i.e., up to January 15, 2023.
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 is mandatorily to be declared.
The ministry said it is noticed that industries are proactively mentioning temperature while declaring the net quantity in volume. The manufacturers/packers/importers are declaring the net quantity of edible oil, etc. in volume, mentioning the temperature at the time of packing along with the units of mass. Few manufacturers depicted temperatures of up to 600 °C.
It has been observed that such declaration of net quantity of edible oil, vanaspati ghee, etc. in terms of volume keeps the volume fixed (for example, 1 litre) at different temperatures with mass, which differs when the packaging mentions a higher temperature. The weight of soybean 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.