THE Indonesia Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) will not approve for distribution products with \'Palm Oil Free\' labels to protect palm oil as the strategic commodity for Indonesia.The move was decided in a meeting attended by officials from BPOM, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Industry, and Ministry of Agriculture in Jakarta, Wednesday (21/8/2019). "We have agreed and made a commitment to protect palm oil\'s competitiveness, and particularly to stop the use of the labels that reduce palm oil\'s competitiveness," Chairman of BPOM Penny K. Lukito said in a statement.The meeting was organized to discuss some issues concerning palm oil, including its contribution to Indonesia\'s economy, recent trends of industry, and actions to handle negative campaign against palm oil.Products labeled "Palm Oil Free" are commonly found on shelves in some countries to discredit palm oil. Penny said, all imported foods, processed products, and cosmetics labeled Palm Oil Free are illegal in Indonesia."Every product you see in markets, including foods and cosmetics labeled Palm Oil Free are illegal in Indonesia," she added.The ban is implemented in accordance with the BPOM Regulations Number 31/2018 concerning Labels on Processed Foods and with the BPOM\'s Chairman Regulation Number 12/2016 on Processed Foods Registration. ***