No false claim: Virgin coconut oil is good for you

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Coconut Authority has asked the Bureau of Agricultural and Fishery Products Standards (BAFPS) to allow producers of virgin coconut oil to remove the phrase “no therapeutic claim” from the labels of PCA-certified VCO products.

PCA administrator Euclides Forbes said producers should instead put the phrase “increases good cholesterol – HDL (high density lipoprotein)” on the labels of VCO products to help promote VCO in the local and export market.

Results of a PCA-commissioned study show that VCO intake significantly increases good cholesterol in the body.

UST Research Center for Natural and Applied Sciences team leader Christina Binag said 110 participants were asked to take three tablespoons of VCO every day while 79 participants took a placebo similar to VCO during a four-month study.

Binag said participants who took VCO experienced regular bowel movement, increased appetite and stamina and better sleep.

VCO exports from January to October 2012 rose 39.07 percent in terms of volume and by 25.61 percent in terms of value year-on-year.

Shipment volume rose from 4,163.35 metric tons in 2011 to 5,790.28 MT in the first 10 months of 2012.

Shipment value increased to $23.58 million in the first ten months of 2012 from $18.77 million in the same period in 2011.