Coconut oil quality

Keywords coconut oil, quality parameters, oil extraction, wet process, dry process, antioxidant properties... 

Various quality parameters have been proposed in order to establish the quality of coconut oil. Asian Pacific Coconut Conmumity (APCC) and Codex Alimentarius have established the values of quality eontrol parameters in physical, chemical and microbiological aspects of coconut oil. Quality parameters established by Codex Alimentarius for eoconut oil are acid value or free fatty aeid percentage (none), peroxide value (< 15 meq/kg oil), iodine value (6.3-10.6) and volatile matter percentage at 105°C (0.2%). APCC standards of quality parameters for virgin coconut oil are given in the Table 1. 

Keywords coconut oil, quality, physico-chemical analysis, authentication... 

The quality of commercial coconut oil quality is based on trade specifications which give rounded values for a small number of basic characteristics. The specifications of the Malaysian Edible Oil Manufacturers Association (MEOMA 2001) for crude and refined coconut oils are shown in Table 10 and those of a major EU refiner for both refined and hydrogenated CNO are shown in Table 11. 

The raw materials for the manufacture of soap, the alkali salts of saturated and unsaturated C10-C20 carboxylic acids, are natural fats and fatty oils, especially tallow oil and other animal fats (lard), coconut oil, palm kernel oil, peanut oil, and even olive oil. In addition, the tall oil fatty acids, which are obtained in the kraft pulping process, are used for soap production. A typical formulation of fats for the manufacture of soap contains 80-90% tallow oil and 10-20% coconut oil [2]. For the manufacture of soft soaps, the potassium salts of fatty acids are used, as are linseed oil, soybean oil, and cottonseed oil acids. High-quality soap can only be produced by high-quality fats, independent of the soap being produced by saponification of the natural fat with caustic soda solution or by neutralization of distilled fatty acids, obtained by hydrolysis of fats, with soda or caustic soda solutions. Fatty acids produced by paraffin wax oxidation are of inferior quality due to a high content of unwanted byproducts. Therefore in industrially developed countries these fatty acids are not used for the manufacture of soap. This now seems to be true as well for the developing countries. 

Substitute milk products may not be equivalent to cow s milk in terms of the quantity and in some cases the quality of fat, carbohydrate, vitamins, and minerals. Fat, carbohydrate, sodium, fiber, and energy, as well as the nutrients for which no U.S. RDA has been established, were not considered by FDA in its proposed definition of nutritional equivalency. In terms of quality, coconut oil, the primary and in most instances the sole fat used in substitute as well as imitation milk products, is a more saturated fat than milk fat and lacks linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid. Thus, a substitute dairy product formulated with hydrogenated coconut oil and sucrose and containing more so-... 

Ingredients. The primary materials used in the manufacture of bar soaps are natural fats and oils. The performance and physical properties of soap bars can be varied by altering the blend of fats and oils used to make the neat soap. The most common materials used are top-quality animal tallows and coconut oil with blends ranging from 50% to 85% tallow. Generally it is found dial bars containing higher proportions of coconut soap are physically harder, more brittle, lather more, and are more expensive to produce due to the higher cost of coconut oil. It is therefore common practice to vary the blend of tallows and coconut oil to meet the desired properties and price of each product. 

For purposes of identifying natural fats and ascertaining their quality, a number of analytical tests are routinely employed. The test results of a sample of fat under assessment should fall within the range of established constants to confirm its identity. For coconut oil the usual tests are fatty acid composition, acid value/ percent free fatty acid, saponihcation value, iodine value, Reicheit-Meissl value, Polenske value, unsaponifiable matter, peroxide value/stabihty test, s.p./m.p., color, and solid fat content (see Tables 5 and 6)... 

The principal criteria presently being used to measure quality of coconut oil are free fatty acids content and color. In addition, sensory evaluation through taste and odor of oil serves to confirm the acceptability of the product. 

Raw and acidulated RBL are combined in dilferent ratios with animal tallow to produce soaps of varying characteristics. Palm oil and coconut oil are the dominant fatty acid sources for soap manufacturing. Coconut oil and tallow are complementary in fatty acid composition such that in combination they provide the ingredients of toilet soap (96). There has been speculation regarding the use of safflower and sunflower RBL in this capacity if alterations were made to processing methods. Cottonseed and soybean RBLs are available in large quantities but the cost of upgrading these to the quality necessary for use in toilet soap inhibits their use. 

Coconut oil is very extensively used for food products and has a high quality image but its oleochemical use is probably almost as large. As only its food... 

The way in which testing methods keep in touch with changing market patterns is illustrated by excerpts taken from the history of the original process for making activated carbon in America. The source material for that process was black-ash residue, a waste product from the manufacture of soda pulp. Although this early activated carbon had much less adsorptive power than brands of today, it was found useful for decolorizing coconut oil, phosphoric acid, and other industrial products. Complaints were received from customers stating that the quality was uneven, and as these complaints became more frequent it was necessary to institute quality controls. 

Guarte, R.C., Muhlbauer, W., and Kellert, M. Drying characteristics of copra and quality of copra and coconut oil. Postharvest Biology and Technology, 9(3), 361-372. 1996. 

The intrinsic qualities of coconut oil make it very suitable for household culinary preparations, as frying oil, in non-dairy products, coffee whiteners and... 

With respect to oil composition, the kernel oils of all the palms are of the lauric type and would with minor adjustments fit into the current use patterns of palm kernel and coconut oils. The only questions that remain are whether they can be produced profitably and in good quality. It is noteworthy that successful genetic engineering is likely to make the production of a lauric rich rapeseed oil possible. This would, for the first time, make possible the production of a lauric oil in a temperate climate, and with the subsidies available to US and EC agriculture. 

Fermentation method is the least consistent of all the coconut oil production processes. Therefore, the quality of coconut oil produced by this method varies for different producers. The oil has to be further purified for food purposes. In the preparation of coconut oil by this method, fresh coeonut kernel is first grated and then eoeonut milk or cream is pressed out from the white flesh. This milk is plaeed into vats or buekets and allowed to ferment at about 37°C. The enzymes and bacteria break the proteins in emulsion and separate the milk into different layers which include a top protein curd layer, a eoeonut oil layer underneath, another curd layer and a layer of water. The protein curd on the top ean be removed and then the oil layer can be siphoned. 

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