Prime Scientific - Solutions for Quality Control of Edible Oils

Introduction

Majority of the edible oils used for cooking, frying and food formulations are derived from plant sources, specifically from oilseeds such as soybean, canola, sunflower seeds, cottonseed and peanuts. Edible vegetable oils are liquid at room temperature and comprised of mainly triacylglycerides that are made up of three fatty acids attached to a glycerol molecule through ester bond.

Oil quality deteriorates by hydrolysis, oxidation and polymerization of the oil. Hydrolysis increases the amount of free fatty acids (FFA), mono- and diacylglycerols and glycerols in oils. Oxidation produces hydroperoxides and low molecular weight volatile compounds such as aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, and short chain alkanes and alkenes. Dimers and polymers also are formed when oil is exposed to high temperatures during cooking and frying.

Monitoring and maintaining edible oil quality are paramount importance to ensure safety of the product for consumption. Although there is no official standard set for evaluating edible oil quality, FFA content, peroxide value (PV) and p-anisidine value (AV) are commonly used in industry to report edible oil quality.

Which Equipment to Use?

 Colorimeter for color test

 Rapidoxy for oxidation stability

 Abbemat refractometer

 Rotational Viscometer

 Soxhlet Extraction with Rotary Evaporation for fat determination

 Turbimeter for turbidity of oil

 Titration Unit for acidity, free fatty acids, and peroxide value

 Moisture Analyzer

 Furnace up to 1200C for ash

 UV-Vis spectrophotometer for p-ansidine value

 General lab equipment:

- pH meter, hotplate stirrer, electronic and analytical balances, oven, water bath, circulator, shaker, conductivity meter, and other tools

 Special Equipment like: gas chromatograph

For more information about equipment visit our online catalog

Reference

https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/edible-oil-quality.html