Palm fat

What is palm fat?

Palm fat is obtained from the pulp of the oil palm. Half of it consists of saturated fats and is synonymous with palm oil.

Where is palm fat contained?

Palm fat is used in large parts of Asia and Africa as an edible oil for cooking, frying and deep-frying due to its outstanding heat and oxidation stability. It is also used in baked goods, confectionery and margarine. Furthermore, palm fat and its derivatives can be found in various formulations for the cosmetics industry and detergents. In technology, it is a fundamental substance for the production of numerous oleochemical products, which are used in lubricants and candles, among other things.

Where does palm fat come from?

The largest palm fat producing countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Colombia, where it is mostly produced conventionally. However, large quantities of palm fat have also been grown sustainably on RSPO-certified land for some years now. The abbreviation RSPO stands for (The) Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil. This is an organisation founded by the WWF, which has set itself the goal of making the production of palm oil more sustainable. This includes ensuring that no specially protected forests are cleared, that laws (land use and property rights) are observed, that ecosystems and their environment are treated responsibly and that plantations are as small as possible on sensitive soils. According to the RSPO, 19% of global palm oil production and around 2.9 million hectares are now RSPO-certified.

How is palm fat produced?

Palm fat is produced by sterilising and pressing the fruit flesh. This is how the palm oil or palm fat is obtained. Initially, this is still orange-yellow to brownish red in colour, as it still has a very high carotene content at this stage. However, the carotene is removed during the refining process, leaving behind the light colour.