Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)
From 1990 to 2000, production of palm oil by Malaysia had been increasing yearly and this trend continued into the new millennium. Malaysia’s palm oil production increased from 11 804 million tonnes in 2001 to 11 909 million tonnes in 2002, i.e. by about 0.89% (Table 1). This is a small increase when compared to […]
The production of aquatic animals, aquaculture, is currently the fastest growing animal production sector in the world. The rapid expansion of the aquaculture industry is most pronounced in Asia, which contributes about 90% of the total global aquaculture production (by weight). This increase in aquaculture production must be supported by a corresponding increase in the […]
It is a well-known fact that prices of oils and fats in the world market are very volatile. Prices fluctuate in a manner that reflects the supply and demand situations in the world. Any shortage will lead to an increase in prices and any surplus may result in a fall. As reflected in Table 1, […]
Interesterification (IE) is the process of re-arranging the fatty esters within and between triglycerides resulting in most cases, a change in the physical properties of the oil/fat. It is a useful modification method to give the oil/fat the functionality required for a finished product. However, because of several reasons, IE has not been given due […]
There are many reasons for changing the melting properties of fats and oils (and mixtures of these) ranging from increasing or decreasing the melting point (or cloud point) of an oil, to altering the melting profile of an oil mixture. Basically, five different methods of changing the melting properties profiles of fats and oils exist […]
The physical characteristics of oils and fats are determined by their chemical properties, i.e., the chain length and unsaturation of the fatty acids as well as their distribution among the three hydroxyl groups of glycerol. By changing them through hydrogenation, fractionation, blending or interesterification (IE), the physical properties can be changed as well, hence, widening […]
Trans fatty acids are unsaturated fatty acids containing at least one double bond in the trans configuration, formed when edible oils are partially hydrogenated. This process is normally done to increase the melting points of the fatty acids to enable liquid oils to be used in solid fats formulations such as margarines, shortenings, vanaspati and […]
The Asian bar soap market is expected to grow at a very healthy rate of 5%-6% over the next five years. In comparison, in Europe, there is negative growth and the bar soap market has been on the decline. Hence, the Asian bar soap business is a very interesting market for current and new entrants […]
The development of the oleochemical industry in Malaysia in early 1980s also marked the fast take-off of the soap making industry in this country. This was inevitable because soap is the most immediate downstream product and the most widely used body cleanser today since its production dated back to 2500 BC. In spite of the […]
The α-SME is an alternative anionic surfactant to linear alkyl benzene sulphonates (LAS), fatty alcohol sulphates (FAS) and (the now maligned) branched alkyl sulphates (BAS). Historically, LAS and BAS were the workhorse surfactants for many detergent formulations. But BAS has now been banned from use by many countries due to its low biodegradation quality, leaving […]