The move will lead to a scarcity in the cheaply available oils reaching common man's kitchen.

Though the main thrust of the order would be to ensure quality of edible oil, including mustard oil, it will increase the cost of production and hence push up the prices.

While branded and packaged edible oils will not face any diificulties, small units will be hit hard as the new stipulation will require investments for such packaging.

Several units will face closures and render many unemployed. The country has about 15,000 oil mills spread across the country, of which over 600 are solvent extraction plants, 300 vegetable oil refineries and 175 hydrogenation plants. 90 per cent of oil mills sell edible oils in loose formThe mammoth crushing capacity in countrychurns out 70 to 75 lakh tonnes of vegetable oil annually. The average utilisation of installed capacity is around 35-40 per cent, which means that a large 60 per cent capacity remains unutilised. A decision to promulgate the order was taken at a high-level government meeting chaired by food and consumer affairs minister Surjit Singh Barnala was taken of Friday last.

The measure has been contemplated due to the adulteration in mustard oil that has caused the deadly dropsy disease. At least 46 people have died due to dropsy till now. The order would make it mandatory for all packers to be registered with the directorate of vanaspati, vegetable oils and fats (VVOF), and adding registration numbers would have to be conspicuously displayed on each pack.

Simultaneously, a multi-agency testing and clearing group, headed by chief director VVOF and comprising members from different agencies and state governments, would be set up to pool all available resources, including manpower and testing facilities.

Sincethe ban on mustard oil by the government, the Food and Drug Administration prohibited the sale of 25.1 lakh kgs of loose mustard oil worth about Rs 2.20 crore. The daily consumption of mustard oil in the metropolis was around 5-10 metric tonnes.