KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) will be the agency to regulate the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification scheme by Jan 1, 2015.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said after a long deliberation, the MPOCC was the appropriate agency to undertake the MSPO certification scheme.
He said the council, which will be operational in the first quarter of 2015, is an independent body similar to the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC).
The purpose of setting up an independent body for the certification is to enhance the integrity and be a credible certification agency for the palm oil industry.
“We have seen the success of the MTCC and would like to emulate it,” he told reporters at the ‘Oil and Fats International Congress 2014’, here yesterday. Uggah said the pilot audit had been undertaken to identify the ways to implementing the MSPO scheme and it was ready to be executed next year.
A pilot audit of the MSPO certification was conducted at various oil palm premises beginning April this year, and as of October 2014, three mills, three plantations and two smallholders had successfully complied with the MSPO requirements and qualified for the award of the MSPO certificate.
On March 21, 2014, the Cabinet approved the implementation of the MSPO certification system based on the sustainability requirements in the Malaysian Standard for MSPO. — Bernama