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Thursday, 13 December 1973

Mr Lloyd asked the Minister for Health, upon notice:

(1)   Can he say whether the Governments of West Germany, France and Italy have placed restrictions on the use of certain varieties of rapeseed oil foodstuffs because of the health danger from erucic acid.

(2)   Will his Department place similar restrictions in Australia, and publicise the health danger resulting from the use of certain varieties of rapeseed oil.

Dr Everingham - The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1)   I am informed that the Italian Government has no restriction on the erucic acid content of edible oils at present. A Ministerial Decree of December 1972 limits the content of erucic acid in edible fats to 10 per cent; however, this Decree has been suspended twice and is not expected to come into operation until 31 January 1974.

I am also informed that the French Government has no restriction on erucic acid content and has not deemed it necessary to prohibit for human consumption the sale of rapeseed oil, whether pure or mixed with other oil varieties. The nature of the oil and its origin, and the relative importance of the various ingredients must be indicated on the product label. The absence of health regulations pertaining to erucic acid can be attributed to the inconclusiveness of the tests performed in France to date, and also the oilseed shortage which prevails in that country. However, the Government has indicated that in future the sale of rapeseed oil may be regulated in the light of further scientific evidence.

To date no reply has been received to inquiries with the West German authorities). The information will be forwarded to the honourable member when it is available.

(2)   The National Health and Medical Research Council, through its Food Standards Committee, has this matter under active consideration at the present time.

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