Processing practices and quality of crude palm oil produced on a small scale in Valença, Bahia, Brazil

• Published in: Grasas y aceites (Sevilla) Vol. 75; no. 2; p. 2084
• Main Authors: Bomfima, R.S., Velasco, J., Cardoso, L.A., Ribeiro, C.D.F., Marinho, L.Q.M., Ribeiro, P.R., De Almeida, D.T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 03.10.2024
• Subjects: Crude palm oil; Elaeis guineensis; Free fatty acids; Physicochemical quality; Total polar compounds
• ISSN: 0017-3495; 1988-4214
• DOI: 10.3989/gya.1191231.2084

This study aimed to compare the quality of crude palm oils (CPO) produced from different processing methods in Brazil: traditional (T-CPOE), little-mechanized (LM-CPOE) and semi-mechanized extraction (SM-CPOE). A total of 57 CPO samples were studied. The peroxide value (PV), total carotenoids (TC), oxidative stability index (OSI120), deterioration of bleachability index (DOBI), color (CIELab), total polar compounds (TPC) and its fractions, consisting of triacylglycerol polymers (TGP), dimers (TGD), oxidized monomers (oxTGM), diacylglycerols (DAG) and free fatty acids (FFA) were analyzed. Regardless of the extraction method, the PV, TC and OSI120 were found to be 3.1-7.6 meqO2/kg, 375-598 ppm, and 0.6-3.3 h, respectively. T-CPOE samples demonstrated superior quality based on DOBI and TPC. The TPC in the T-CPOE samples were significantly lower (8.7-9.6%) than in the other samples (11.9-18.5%). In all methods, the levels of compounds in the TPC fractions were DAG ≈ FFA > oxTGM > (TGP + TGD). Fruit selection and T-CPOE equipment played crucial roles in reducing oil degradation.