OREANDA-NEWS. Palm oil itself is not a harmful product.  However, manufacturers and the methods of transportation and cleaning they use cause questions, Viktor Tutelyan, chief freelance nutritionist of the Ministry of Health of Russia, said on Thursday, July 18.

 The bill on depriving palm oil of VAT benefits and returning to the rate of 20% is planned to be submitted to the State Duma on Thursday, Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the lower house of parliament, said earlier.  According to him, the decision was made after discussing the appeal of citizens about the inadmissibility of the widespread use of palm oil in food.  According to people, it reduces the quality of food, and sometimes harms health.

 In the first half of 2018, Russia significantly increased the import of palm oil.  550 thousand tons were imported into the country, which is 20% more than in the same period of 2017.