36
OCT 2017
FOOD FOCUSTHAILAND
SPECIAL
FOCUS
PalmOilsareMost-WidelyAcceptedEdibleOil
Different edible oils such as olive oil, palm oil, soybean oil, canola oil,
coconut oil, andcottonseedoil arewidelyusedacross the food industry.
Among these, palm oil is the fastest-growing edible oil market due to
their wide-ranging usage in confectionery and convenience foods, and
non-dairyproducts.Palmoilsaremajorlyused toproducespecialtyoils
& fats, due to their compositions and wide availability. The palm fruit
consists of an outer pulp, which is the source of the crude palm oil; an
inner shell, which is used for fuel; and two or three kernels, which are
the source of another oil type: palm kernel. Palm oil, which consists
mainly of triglycerides of palmitic and oleic fatty acids, is semisolid at
room temperature. Processed palm oil generally develops a slight,
distinctiveviolet-likeodourwithoxidation.Thesepalmproductsareused
as baseoils for productionof specialty fats&oils
Due to their highly versatile feature and good stability against
oxidation, palm oils are now findingwide application in the processing
of several convenience foodproducts suchaspourablemargarineand
spreads, friedsnacks,mayonnaise, soup-mixes, noodles, packaged
bread, cakes, cookies, andpastries.
KeyMarketDrivers,Restraints,and IndustryTrends
The increasingconsumerdemand forprocessed foodssuchasdairy
products,bakery& frozen food,confectionery items,andconvenience
foods, coupledwith theirmultiplebenefits in functionality, act as key
factors driving themarket for edibleoil globally.At the country level,
the rising disposable income in developing countries, such as India
andBrazil, fuels the growth of the edible oil market.
Excessive consumption of hydrogenated oil increases the level
of LDLs (low-density lipoproteins) and decreases the level of HDLs
(high-density lipoproteins) in the blood, thereby increasing the risk
of thrombosis. Also, the rising consumer awareness about the risk
of high cholesterol from the intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids
found inprocessed foods, hinder thegrowthof theedibleoilmarket.
Edible oils are processed tomeet specific properties that provide an optimum range of desired functionalities such
as neutral tasteprofile toensureuse inawide rangeof foodprocessingapplications, natural high stability for longer
shelf life, and increased flavour stability. Edibleoilsarebothplant aswell asanimal based suchaspalmoil, oliveoil,
canola oil, coconut oil, and cotton seed oil. According toGovernment of Ontario, “edible oil product, means a food
substance, other than a dairy product, of whatever origin, source or composition that is manufactured for human
consumptionwholly or in part froma fat or oil other than that of milk.”
globaledible
oilmarket
