Small-scale production in the Congo basin of low-acid carotene-rich red palm oil

Abstract

The red palm oil consumed in the Congo basin come essentially from small-scale production from the dura or tenera varieties (the latter being a hybrid of dura and pisifera). These three varieties are endemic to the Congo basin. The tenera variety is characterized a thick pulp (about 50% of the nut) from which 70–90% of oil (based on fresh pulp) can be extracted. The dura variety has less pulp (30% of the nut by weight), and gives an oil yield of the same order of magnitude. The oil is extracted from the crushed pulp after a series of mixing steps in hot water at about 60 °C. When obtained from freshly harvested nuts (at most 3 days storage), this oil is rich in carotenoids (800–2600 ppm) and polyphenols (5–13 mg/g), and presents low acid values (IA < 5) and peroxide values (IP < 10). Here we describe this traditional production process, widespread in the Congo basin, and suggest innovations that substantially increase the quantity of oil extracted and significantly improve the quality of the end product.

Keywords

• palm oil
• extraction
• analysis
• Congo basin