What happens when SIRIM standards lag behind EU food safety rules?

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When SIRIM standards lag behind EU food safety rules, Malaysian palm oil shipments face higher rejection risk and the industry loses credibility on food safety.

When SIRIM has no limits for 3-MCPDE, glycidyl esters, or MOAH while the EU already does, Malaysian mills are left exposed to border rejections and external scrutiny. The gap is not theoretical: MOAH has already triggered refusals through the EU’s RASFF system, and Malaysian shipments have been flagged. That makes the standards gap a present trade and compliance problem, not a distant one.
The EU has already set specific limits for key contaminants.

The EU sets 2.5 mg/kg for 3-MCPDE in palm oil and 1 mg/kg for glycidyl esters. It also has MOAH controls moving toward formal 2027 limits, and those rules are already affecting shipments at the border.
SIRIM currently has no limits for these substances.

SIRIM has no limits for 3-MCPDE, glycidyl esters, or MOAH. That leaves Malaysia without domestic thresholds for contaminants that are already regulated in Europe.
The gap has already affected Malaysian shipments.

MOAH has been triggering border rejections through the EU’s RASFF system, with Malaysian shipments flagged. The concern is described as a current crisis rather than a future risk, because the trade impact is already visible.
Industry groups are being pushed to act together.

The proposal is for ISP, PORAM, and MPOA to jointly petition SIRIM. That step is described as the bare minimum, because the current silence on these limits leaves Malaysia effectively relying on foreign regulators to define food safety credibility.

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What happens when SIRIM standards lag behind EU food safety rules?

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