The first European Palm Oil Conference, EPOC 2013, was held in Paris on Tuesday 8 October 2013 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Paris.
The conference was well attended by 150 persons comprising of French government officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economy and Finance; top business leaders from the French food industry, academics, researchers, NGOs as well as journalists from the French media.
EPOC 2013 was aimed to address the many issues and concerns that are continuously surfacing in Europe regarding palm oil, particularly Malaysian palm oil. Paris was chosen as the location of choice, since it is a hotbed for many of the ongoing debate on this commodity that is widely used throughout Europe and indeed the rest of the world.
The gathering of French government officials and the private sector at EPOC 2013 was an opportunity of updating them on the current Malaysian palm industry’s sustainability and certification practices; correct palm nutritional and health attributes; European policies impacting food labeling and biodiesel mandates; consumer perceptions as well as NGO demands on the industry.
The conference had also provided an open platform building the desired confidence among all stakeholders and end users so much so that many of the negative publicity surrounding palm oil is addressed and appropriate solutions or progressive steps are identified.
17 October 2013