The quality of crude palm oil (Elaeis guineensis): raw material for deep-frying acarajés

Abstract

A remarkable characteristic of the crude palm oil production in Bahia is the rustic way of extraction and the variety of products sold in supermarkets and marketplaces. This study investigated the criteria used by baianas de acarajé for choosing the palm oil for deep-frying of acarajé, and to evaluate their quality. Fifteen kinds of crude palm oil, usually employed for frying acarajé in Salvador City, were collected in their original packing. The quality of these samples was verified by analysis of acidity (mg KOH/g), peroxide value (mEq/ kg), refraction index (40 ºC) and color (CIELab). During the interviews, the baianas de acarajé have stated preference to labeled palm oil (48%) and the products containing both olein and stearin (89%) for frying acarajé. The acidity was higher than those established by legislation (10mg KOH/g) in 73.33% of samples; the peroxide values varied from 0.5 to 4.5 mEq/kg, and the refraction index between 1.4500-1.4590. The samples containing only olein fraction, were more brighter and intense red than those composed by both fractions. High heterogeneity was observed in the analyzed palm oil samples, remarkably high acidity, and when this condition is combined with high temperature frying, a formation of the absorbable and highly cytotoxic oxidized fatty acids might be induced.