Myth About Palm Oil
By Ellango Narayanan
There are a lot of myths about the health issues regarding the usage of Palm oil. This article attempts to analyze the composition and advantages of Palm oil to dispel such myths.

Palm oil is produced from the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis Guinnesis , found in Africa, South East Asia and Latin America. Palm oil is extracted and refined through pressing and crushing and not by the use of chemical solvents.

Crude Palm oil can be further refined into
*palm olein (liquid) &
*palm stearine (solid)

Palm olein is used for frying foodstuff as it is stable in high temperatures. The manufacturing process involves deep-frying followed by rapid cooking and blast freezing. Quick crystallization of the fat used is important and for this reason, a hydrogenated palm oil of melting point 40-42°C is preferred.

The most important characteristic of a fat used for frying is its ability to withstand the high temperature used, with undue chemical change. Frying usually at about 180°C , at which temperature, the more unsaturated oils tend to oxidize and breakdown or polymerize quite rapidly. Palm oil used domestically, in restaurants, fast food outlets and in large-scale preparation of fried potato products and other snack foods in large-scale food manufacture. For the large scale frying of potato chips, palm olein or a blend of palm olein with soya or rapeseed oil is preferred. This is because the surface appearance of the finished product is improved. French fries are often purchased as part fried and deep frozen products.

Palm oil, with its moderate linoelic acid content and high level of natural antioxidants, is suitable for direct use in most frying applications, and frying is a major use of palm oil worldwide. Oils containing significant

levels of linoelic acid are not recommended for frying, unless they have been hydrogenated to reduce the content of these labile components. Palm oil resists oxidation and rancidity, which means products made using palm oil have extended shelf lives.

Palm oil is solid at room temperature, has a neutral taste, and can be extracted without the use of solvents has made organic palm oil a very useful ingredient in organic food processing. Similar organic fats which are solid at room temperature are butter and coconut oil, unlike palm oil , both of which are highly saturated fats.

Palm oil contains a balance of polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids. In addition, palm oil contains essential substances such as linoleic acid and tocopherols and tocotrienols, which act as natural anti-oxidants .

Unlike other vegetable fats, palm oil is free from cholesterol. As palm oil is solid at room temperature, hydrogenation is not required , a technique which hardens liquid oil but resulting in adding trans fatty acids in the process. Studies proves that palm oil does not ordinarily raise blood cholesterol levels, and is helpful lower harmful LDL-cholesterol. Palm-oil enriched diet helps in putting blood clots away. Unrefined palm olein (red colour) is a source of carotenoids which is a cancer inhibitor and beta-carotene.

Palm stearine is used in biscuits, cakes, and non-hydrogenated margarine. Palm stearine is also used to stop peanut butter from separating.

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