Ashapura to approach state authorities for use of pure edible oil

In view of the increasing demand of bleaching clay and clay catalysts that is used in the manufacturing by oil refineries specially edible oil and also in petroleum products, Ashapura Volclay (AVL) is planning to approach regulatory authorities for stringent rules for oil refineries and also monitor refineries to ensure toxic free oils.

"An element called Dioxin is 6,000 times poisonous than Cyanide. Therefore, we emphasise on using standardised quality bleaching clays and clay catalysts in processing edible oil, as oil is coloured and decoloured using bleaching clay. If this bleaching clay contains dioxin, then it will definitely move to the end product of refined oil," said Chetan Shah, managing director of Ashapura Group of companies.

He added that additional contamination from heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, lead may also occur from the sub-standard processing of bleaching clay or clay catalysts.

AVL recently inaugurated a new production facility at its existing Bhuj plant that makes bleaching clay and clay catalysts. Till date the production capacity of AVL's Bhuj plant was of 25,000 MT per annum. With the additional production facility in place, it will be able to manufacture 60,000 MT of production per annum.

"Out of this, we are currently in a position to cater 50,000 MT of products to the edible oil refineries and 10,000 MT to petroleum refineries," said Shah.

Out of 50,000 MT, the consumption in Kutch-Bhuj and surrounding area falls somewhere between 8,000 to 10,000 MT per annum, as Adani Wilmar, Ruchi Soya, Kargil India etc along with other couple of edible oil refining plants in SPEZ Gandhidham are already using this clay. The rest 40,000 to 42,000 MT per annum is utilised by edible oil refineries across the country, Shah added

"These products are of various grades and tagged between Rs 18 to 20 per kilogram, wherein gross margins ranges from 40 to 45 per cent. Unfortunately, there is no regulatory body to monitor the proper use of products by refineries to make it toxin free" Shah said.

Therefore, AVL is approaching the local food and drug administration department to acknowledge them the nature of dioxin and the percentage of daily consumption.

"To an extent we have managed to educate few of our clients about how can their products be made toxin free using standardised quality products. Results are satisfactory, to an extent," Shah said.

Currently, we are marketing our product for refining castor oil in Gujarat, Soya bean oil refining in Madhya Pradesh, groundnut oil in south India and refining of rice bran oil and mustard oil in north Indian states. This product is also being imported from Germany and Indonesia, but by and large we have found sub-standard quality containing dioxin is used, he said.

Shah said, "Dioxin is a group of 75 chemical species and dioxin also called 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. As per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA, 'safe' life time consumption of dioxin for suppose 62 kilograms of adult is only 0.00000001 gm that is 0.01 microgram. Dioxin is known to affect liver, heart, reproductive functions and can cause cancer."

Since edible oil consumption manufactured in Gujarat, especially groundnut oil is pretty high, AVL, after learning that the state government has made fortifying edible oil with vitamins mandatory, would also approach the state government in this regards.