Products

What is Palm Oil?

It’s an edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of oil palm trees, the scientific name is Elaeis guineensis. Two types of oil can be produced; crude palm oil comes from squeezing the fleshy fruit, and palm kernel oil which comes from crushing the kernel, or the stone in the middle of the fruit. Oil palm trees are native to Africa but were brought to South-East Asia just over 100 years ago as an ornamental tree crop. Now, Indonesia and Malaysia make up over 85% of global supply but there are 42 other countries that also produce palm oil.

WHAT PRODUCTS IS IT IN?

Palm oil is in nearly everything – it’s in close to 50% of the packaged products we find in supermarkets, everything from pizza, doughnuts and chocolate, to deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste and lipstick. It’s also used in animal feed and as a biofuel in many parts of the world

WHY IS PALM OIL EVERYWHERE?

Palm oil is an extremely versatile oil that has many different properties and functions that makes it so useful and so widely used. It is semi-solid at room temperature so can keep spreads spreadable; it is resistant to oxidation so can give products a longer shelf-life; it’s stable at high temperatures so helps to give fried products a crispy and crunchy texture; and it’s also odourless and colourless so doesn’t alter the look or smell of food products. In Asian and African countries, palm oil is used widely as a cooking oil, just like we might use sunflower or olive oil here in the UK.

As well as being versatile, compared to other vegetable oils the oil palm is a very efficient crop, able to produce high quantities of oil over small areas of land, almost all year round. This makes it an attractive crop for growers and smallholders, who can rely on the steady income that palm oil provides.

WHAT SOLUTIONS ARE THERE?

Palm oil can be produced more sustainably and there is a role for companies, governments, and consumers to play. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil  or RSPO was formed in 2004 in response to increasing concerns about the impacts palm oil was having on the environment and on society. The RSPO has production standards for growers that set best practices for producing and sourcing palm oil, and it has the buy-in of most of the global industry. RSPO encourage companies to:

• Set robust policies to remove deforestation, conversion of other natural ecosystems, such as peatlands, and human rights abuses from their supply chains
  

• Buy and use RSPO certified palm oil across their operations globally
  

• Be transparent in their use and sourcing of palm oil ensuring they know who they are buying from and where it’s been produced
  

WHY DON’T WE JUST SWITCH TO AN ALTERNATIVE VEGETABLE OIL?

Palm oil is an incredibly efficient crop, producing more oil per land area than any other equivalent vegetable oil crop. Globally, palm oil supplies 40% of the world’s vegetable oil demand on just under 6% of the land used to produce all vegetable oils. To get the same amount of alternative oils like soybean, coconut, or sunflower oil you would need anything between 4 and 10 times more land, which would just shift the problem to other parts of the world and threaten other habitats, species and communities.  Furthermore, there are millions of smallholder farmers who depend on producing palm oil for their livelihoods. Boycotting palm oil is not the answer. Instead, we need to demand more action to tackle the issues and go further and faster.

CAN I TRUST RSPO CERTIFIED PRODUCTS?

The RSPO is the global standard for the sustainable production of palm oil. When palm oil is produced in adherence to RSPO standards, growers help to protect the environment and the local communities who depend on the crop for their livelihoods, so that palm oil can continue to play a key role in food security, economic development, and food supply chains. We should continue to use RSPO certified sustainable palm oil in products, as replacing it would result in more deforestation and natural habitat conversion. RSPO certified products that use palm oil from ‘Segregated’ or ‘Identity Preserved’ supply chains offer the greatest assurance of sustainable palm oil.

WHAT CAN I DO?

The best thing we can do is support sustainable palm oil and avoid boycotts, since we know substitutions with other vegetable oils can lead to even further environmental and social harm.

SPECIFICATION OF CRUDE PALM OIL

Free fatty acids: 5% (Max)

Moisture Impurities and Volatiles : 0.25% (Max)

Saponification Value : 195 – 205

Iodine Value : 50 – 55

Melting Point : Preferably 33°C and not more than 39°C

Refractive index at 50°C : 1.4491 – 1.4452

Unsaponifiable Matter : 1.2% (Max)

Specific Gravity at 42°C : 0.895 – 0.987

Phosphor number : 0,40%

DOBI : 2.3 Min.

Applications & Benefits:

Ideal for cooking and baking

Very rich in Vitamin E.

No Trans Fatty Acids.

Cholestrol and Lactose FREE

No artificial additives or preservatives.

Shelf life and certification:

Shelf Life is 24 months from the date of production.

Conforms to the requirements stipulated by Malaysian Food Act and Regulations.

Certified HALAL by Islamic Development Department of Malaysia.

ISO 9001 : 2000 certified

HACCP Codex Alimentarius

GMP Codex Alimentarius.

FOR PARTNERS

Pontos Company exports all types of edible / used edible oils. Highly qualified specialists work in production. To obtain high-quality and healthy oil, we maintain all standards, strictly subjected to a high quality of control at all stages of production.

We have extensive experience in exporting goods in container and ship batches. Our company offers convenient services of the logistics department for the delivery of goods and favorable prices for our partners. We supervise the safe loading of goods and ensure their quality distribution in the countries of customers.

Pontos Company appreciates the trust of its partners and aims at long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation based on honesty, mutual trust and professionalism.

Over a long period of work, Pontos Company has established itself as a stable and reliable partner. We approach our business responsibly and guarantee the high quality of our products.

If you have any questions, please send us your inquiries, We are very glad to work with you and are always open to new partners!