Free fatty acids deodorization

Aldehydes, enals, dienals, ketones, and hydrocarbons, which are responsible for disagreeable odors, generally bok at lower temperatures than fatty acids. Analysis showkig a free fatty acid concentration of less than 0.05% is an kidication that deodorization is sufficientiy complete. Some of the dienals have very low odor thresholds and sensory evaluation of the finished ok is a judicious quaHty assurance step. 

The saponifiable portion of the fatty oil accounts for about 90% of the total fixed oil and is characterized by a very high content of octadecenoic acids. Petroselinic and oleic acid occur at similar levels and jointly comprise 74-85%, linoleic 7-16% and palmitic 4-8%, of the constituent fatty acids. During prolonged storage of the spice, the free fatty acid content gradually increases and this is a good indicator of the age of the material. The contents of fatty acids, sterols and total tocopherols in a deodorized oil derived from coriander seeds (yield up to 28%) are compared with those in sunflower oil and tests on the biological effects of coriander oil are reported by Mironova et al. (1991). Of the fatty acids present, total C18 1 acids (petroselinic acid + oleinic acids) constituted 80—82% and petroselinic acid alone 50—60%, and the food value was lower than that of sunflower oif. Kim et al. (1996) found the production of petroselinic acid from cell suspension cultures of C. Sativum. 

The flavour of cocoa butter is determined by both the geographical origin of the beans and the deodorization conditions. Deodorization reduces the levels of free fatty acids but also some antioxidant compounds such as tocopherols. Deodorized butters are therefore often blended with expressed cocoa butter for better stability of the product. 

Canola Oil occurs as a light yellow oil. It is typically obtained by a combination of mechanical expression followed by n-hexane extraction, from the seed of the plant Brassica juncea, Brassica napus, or Brassica rapa (Fam. Cruciferae). The plant varieties are those producing oil-bearing seeds with a low erucic acid (C22 i) content. It is a mixture of triglycerides composed of both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. It is refined, bleached, and deodorized to substantially remove free fatty acids phospholipids color odor and flavor components and miscellaneous, other non-oil materials. It can be hydrogenated to reduce the level of unsaturated fatty acids for functional purposes in foods. It is a liquid at 0° and above. 

Coconut Oil (Unhydrogenated) occurs as a viscous, white to light yellow-tan liquid. It is obtained from the kernel of the fruit of the coconut palm Cocos nucifera (Fam. Palmae). The crude oil obtained by mechanically pressing dried coconut meat (copra) is refined, bleached, and deodorized to substantially remove free fatty acids, phospholipids, color, odor and flavor components, and other non-oil materials. Compared with many natural fats, Coconut Oil (Unhydrogenated) has an abrupt melting range, changing from a rather firm, plastic solid at about 21° or below to a liquid at about 21°. 

Solin Oil occurs as a light yellow oil. It is obtained from the seed of certain varieties of the flaxseed plant Linum usitatissi-mum L. (Fam. Linaceae) by mechanical expression and/or solvent extraction, differing from linseed oil in having a linolenic acid (C18 3) content of less than 5%. The oil is refined, bleached, and deodorized to remove free fatty acids, phospholipids, color, odor and flavor components, and miscellaneous non-oil materials. It is liquid and free from visible foreign material at 21° to 21°, but traces of wax may cause the oil to cloud at refrigeration temperatures (2° to 5°) unless removed by winterization. 

Animal fats are subjected to deodorization when a very bland or essentially flavorless fat is desired, such as in margarines or cooking fats. The fats are heated at 200°C to 260°C in the absence of air (to prevent oxidation) and treated with dry steam under a vacuum of 5-10 milliatmospheres. Off-flavor compounds are volatile under these conditions and are captured and removed in the steam stream. In addition to flavor components, free fatty acids, which can also contribute undesirable flavors, and other minor constituents such as peroxides, sterols, sterol esters, toco-pherols, and other natural antioxidants are partially or completely removed from the fat by this treatment. 

The removal of the free fatty acids in the bleached oil is done by steam distillation in a deodorizer. This, simultaneously, deodorizes the oil. Because deodoriza-tion is, also, the last process normally carried out on edible oils, this step may be delayed until other processes, such as hydrogenation of the oil, have been done. 

Typical properties of alkah-refined, bleached canola oil and of acid-water-degummed, acid pretreated, bleached canola oil ready for hydrogenation or steam refining/deodorization are given in Table 16. With the exception of the concentration of free fatty acids, the two process routes produce the same bleached oil quality. 

Deodorization/Physical Refining Quality control is especially concerned with flavor, free fatty acid concentration, color, stability, and trace contaminants. With respect to routine flavor testing, two-three trained panelists test the flavor of small sample of the oil. The oil must be essentially bland, but very slight beany or grassy notes are tolerated. Free fatty acids, color, and stability testing is done by the AOCS official methods (76). 

Abbreviations nr—not reported TAG—triacylglycerols FFA—free fatty acids St —phytosterol fatty acyl esters St—free phytosterols FPE—phytosterol ferulate esters tocols-tocopherols and tocotrienols GL—glycolipids PL—phospholipids RBD—refined, bleached, and deodorized oil. 

With physical rehning, the oil is first degummed and bleached and then fed to a continuous distillation (deodorization) unit, which removes the free fatty acids (92-95%) and volatiles. The rehned oil is blended as above. Frequently, distillation is stopped before removal of all of the free fatty acids, and the oil is alkali rehned to remove the remainder of the free fatty acids. This procedure has the advantage of ehminahng oxidation byproducts and pro-oxidant metals, thus improving product stabihty. 

Two methods, namely physical rehning and chemical rehning, are available for refining crude palm oil. They differ basically in the manner in which the free fatty acids are removed. Physical rehning has become the major processing route because of its cost effectiveness, efficiency, and simple effiuent treatment (39). Both processes are able to produce rehned, bleached, and deodorized (RBD) palm oil of desirable quality and stability suitable for edible purposes (40). The unit operations involved in these two processes and the components removed are shown in Figure 12 and Table 31, respectively. 

Physical Refining. The by-product in the physical refining of crude palm oil is the pahn fatty acid distillate (PFAD). It is obtained as a condensate of the volatile matters carried over from the deodorizer by the action of the stripping steam. It consists of 80-90% of free fatty acid. It has often been used as a raw material for soap making, feed compounding, and oleochemical feedstock. An important and valuable constituent of PFAD is vitamin E in the form of tocopherols and... 

Refining of crude rice oil involves dewaxing, degumming, neutralization of free fatty acids, bleaching to improve color, and steam deodorization. Refined rice bran oil is a light yellow color (Lovibond 3.0 R 30Y) with a mild background odor and flavor reminiscent of rice. Similar to peanut oil, the flavor and odor are complementary to the flavor of many fried foods, such as fish, chicken, and chips. 

Refined oil usually retains little phospholipid, but damaged beans can have a significant content of phosphatidic acid, and the amount of iron in the oil is related to the amount of phosphorus (24). During deodorization, considerable amounts of sterol and tocopherol may be removed from the oil. The proportion removed depends on deodorization conditions, but a 30% to 40% decrease is not unusual (25). Much of the hydrocarbons and squalene are lost to the deodorizer distillate as well. Free fatty acids in fully refined oil are required to be <0.05% and unsaponifiable matter < 1.5% (26). 

Deodorizer distillate is the material collected from the steam distillation of oils. It is a mixture of free fatty acids (especially during physical refining) tocopherols, phytosterols and their esters, hydrocarbons, and hpid oxidation products. The quality and composition of deodorizer distillate depends on the feedstock oil composition and processing conditions. Tocopherols and sterols are the most valuable components that can be recovered from the distillate, and they are used in the nutrition supplement and pharmaceutical industries (201). Typical soybean deodorizer distillate contains about 33% unsaponifiable matters, of which 11% is tocopherol and 18% sterol (202). 

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