FREE FATTY ACID ( FFA)
>> Jumat, 05 Desember 2008
The FFA content of the oil in the bunch before harvesting may be in the order of 0.1% whilst the FFA of the oil in the same bunch when it is received at the mill will never be less than 1%, normally in the order of 3%, and is frequently above 3% under bad conditions.
A low FFA content is the first characteristic to which edible oil refiners pay attention.
A premium of 1% of the sale price is paid for every one percent, should the FFA content be below 5% and the Refining loss will be 1.25% to 1.80% per 1% of FFA.
The rise in the FFA content from harvest to mill will make possible the harvesting of riper fruit with higher oil content and recovery of higher quality oil with a lower FFA.
The riper the fruit the more vulnerable it is to damage during transport and handling. Of all different stages of processing, the harvesting of the palm tree and the transport of fruit to the
edible oil refiner has the most effect on quality.
