Palm Oil

Подробное описание товара

Composition

Palm oil is naturally reddish in color because of a high beta-carotene content. It is not to be confused with palm kernel oil derived from the kernel of the same fruit, or coconut oil derived from the kernel of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). The differences are in color (raw palm kernel oil lacks carotenoids and is not red), and in saturated fat content: palm mesocarp oil is 41% saturated, while palm kernel oil and coconut oil are 81% and 86% saturated fats, respectively.

Usage

Palm oil is used across the world as it is a very versatile product which can be found in practically every other product from food to cleaning products, makeup and toothpaste. You would easily find it in many of your household products and have probably used it today.

Some of the uses of red palm oil include:

• Cooking oil: Similar to coconut oil, palm oil is resistant to heat compared to other vegetable oils. Its stability also makes it easy to store at room temperature for many months.
• Tasty ingredient: Palm oil is used as an ingredient in soups and sauces, or as flavoring in certain dishes.
• Dietary supplement: Palm oil has a superior nutrient profile that makes it useful for supplementation.
• Personal care and household products: Palm oil is added to soaps and detergents, cosmetics, and other household products.
• Skin moisturizer: Due to its nutrient-dense profile, palm oil is beneficial for skin health. It is added to a number of skin care products.
• &ldquoSunblock&rdquo: With its high levels of carotenes, red palm oil provides protection as a commercial sunblock with SPF15, but without the dangerous components.
• Biofuel: Palm oil is fast becoming a resource for biodiesel and as a fuel in electrical stations.

Palm oil production has increased considerably over the past twenty years as it is easy to produce and cheap to purchase. The industry employs hundreds of thousands of people around the world and it&rsquos estimated that 570,000 people and producers export up to the equivalent of 22 billion Australian dollars of palm oil per annum.

Palm oil is a common cooking ingredient in the tropical belt of Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Brazil. Its use in the commercial food industry in other parts of the world is widespread because of its lower cost and the high oxidative stability (saturation) of the refined product when used for frying.

The use of palm oil in food products has attracted the concern of environmental activist groups the high oil yield of the trees has encouraged wider cultivation.