Physical-Chemical Quality of Palm and Palm kernel Crude Oils

Abstract

Although extracted from palm (Elaeis guineensis), palm and palm kernel oils have different chemical and nutritional compositions, since palm oil is extracted from the fruit's mesocarp and palm kernel oil is extracted from the fruit's almond. The quality of the fruit can be affected by its rapid deterioration in the interval between the harvest and the oil extraction processing, therefore the quality control of the oil extracted from this oilseed is extremely important. The objective of this research was to evaluate the physical-chemical quality of crude palm and palm kernel oils in order to verify the effectiveness of the production process. The moisture content, insoluble impurities, acidity indexes, peroxide index and iodine index of the oils were analyzed. Palm oil showed moisture content = 0.12 %, insoluble impurities = 0.020 %, acidity indexes = 2.82 % palmitic acid, peroxide index = 1.93 mEq/Kg and iodine index = 53.13 g I₂/g; while palm kernel oil showed moisture content = 0.11 %, insoluble impurities = 0.016 %, acidity indexes = 0.24 % lauric acid, peroxide index = 0.64 mEq/Kg and iodine index = 17.09 g I₂/g, all satisfactory values ​​within the standards recommended by regulatory bodies for the identity and quality of crude vegetable oils. Such results indicate the efficiency of the production process, since the product produced was in conformity with the expected product, guaranteeing the quality control of the final product.