On VCO

by Roger B Rueda

Now I am going to embark upon this oil which I have become aware of since two years ago when I bought some bottles for my mother—the virgin coconut oil, which is quite extortionate though the substance used to manufacture it is not from overseas as coconut is the Philippines over.

I am caught unawares by its safety and effectiveness. I have taken notice that a lot of companies have sprouted telling the consumers that their VCO is the best or extra virgin. Is there such an expression for that and what standard has been followed to say publicly that one brand name of oil is extra virgin?

Well, some traders and producers of virgin coconut oils call their coconut oil “extra virgin coconut oil,” but there are no other procedures used to make coconut oil other than the common procedures, so this categorisation is just capricious. Oh, too scheming. Between “virgin” and “extra virgin” as there is in the olive oil business, I know there is no authorised sorting or differentiation, since the two oils are wholly different in fatty acid composition, harvesting procedures, and macaronics as to some other field. So, if they can do this, then I doubt if these companies are ingenuous in telling of the genuineness of their product and the devastation of it as well. For one, the oil has not been tested for a long time that indeed it is good or that it is safe and the consumers have nothing to worry about. There might be some side effects or post-effects during or after a long time of using it.

Like of the purified water, the prices of this oil are so steep that no more underprivileged people can have enough money to buy it. How paradoxical that people who benefit from the wonder of this oil are foreigners or people from other countries and not Filipinos because of their financial powerlessness in affording the merchandise. Well, don’t they know that a lot of Filipinos are helpless and that if they see the condition of these under the weather people they might not exorbitantly outlay their product which is obtained from an inexpensive supply and that in a long run might not make them taken to the cleaners?

Take in this: If it is factual that such oil is superior, why don’t our companies subsidise a mass production of the item for consumption to make it within the means of many Filipino families/consumers so that we can guarantee the fine feather of our human resources? For one, it is a general knowledge that coconut trees are all-over and not the thing being projected by VCO companies. They should have concern with the people who might only be helped by the therapeutic wonder of this oil. They ought to think back that to serve the best part of the people of this country is their most important sour grapes why they do business.

Virgin coconut oil can only be got by using fresh coconut meat or what is called non-copra, but this doesn’t put up with that skyrocket-pricing. Chemicals and high heating are not used in additional refining, since the normal, pure coconut oil is very stable with a shelf life of several years. So, I presume companies which sell this oil must have sense of right and wrong.

I think they should be friendly to poor Filipino-consumers and should apply reasonable pricing.

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