Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agricultural groups, will pay $2.4 million, following court proceedings in which it was involved within the case regarding contaminated Ukrainian sunflower oil supplied to the EU in April 2008.

According to a company report, posted on its website, the court made the ruling in January 2016, and a proper provision of $2.4 million within the current liabilities of the group was allocated to fulfill the resolution.

As reported, the Spanish Ministry of Health in 2008 revealed mineral oil traces in the studied samples of Ukrainian sunflower oil in bottles supplied to the EU, which exceeded the permissible limits. Due to this, the state authorities of Spain, France, the Netherlands and Italy stated it was necessary to remove the contaminated oil from the supermarket shelves, despite the European Commission's assurances that this product does not pose a serious risk to the health of consumers.

Kernel believes that the oil could be contaminated at the oil base in the port of loading.

"And as most oil manufacturers and exporters use the same oil and fat terminal, this problem touched most, if not all, companies operating in this market," reads a company report dated 2008.

Kernel said it had immediately provided samples of oil from the oil extraction plants to specialized European laboratories to confirm compliance with the standards.