GIMNI

GIMNI

Oleofood (Oleopangan): Food Products Derived from Vegetable Oils

Oleofood (oleopangan in Indonesian) is the group of vegetable oil and palm oil derivatives intended for food use (food grade): oils and fats obtained by refining and fractionating CPO (crude palm oil) or CPKO (crude palm kernel oil) that are consumed by people, directly or indirectly. Examples include cooking oil (olein), margarine, shortening, and specialty and confectionery fats. Their key characteristic is that the triglyceride chain (the structure of the oil or fat) stays intact: processing is physical or thermal — refining, fractionation, hydrogenation or interesterification, and blending — without breaking down the fat molecules, and the products must meet food quality and safety standards.

Oleofood should be distinguished from oleochemicals, which are chemical derivatives of oils and fats made by breaking the triglyceride bonds (hydrolysis or splitting, transesterification, further hydrogenation) into basic compounds such as fatty acids, fatty alcohols, methyl esters and glycerine — raw materials for soap, detergents, surfactants, cosmetics, biolubricants and bioplastics. In short, oleofood is whole fat or oil for eating (food grade), while oleochemicals are fat-based chemicals for industry (non-food). Both come from the same raw materials (CPO and PKO, via the refinery) but differ in how they are processed and what they are finally used for; biodiesel and bioenergy are generally treated as a separate, third pathway.

Processing chain

From oil palm fruit to food products

  1. 1 Fresh fruit bunches (FFB) Oil palm fruit is harvested and taken to a palm oil mill within 24 hours so that free fatty acid (FFA) levels do not rise.
  2. 2 Mill extraction yields CPO + palm kernel (PK) The fruit flesh (mesocarp) is pressed into crude palm oil (CPO); the kernel is separated. This is where the two palm oil streams diverge.
  3. 3 Palm kernel (PK) becomes crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) Kernels are crushed at a kernel crushing plant (KCP) to produce crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) — the lauric fat feedstock for cocoa butter substitutes, creamers, ice cream and coatings.
  4. 4 Refining: degumming & neutralisation CPO/CPKO enters the refinery. Degumming removes gums/phosphatides; neutralisation (or phosphoric acid pre-treatment) prepares the oil for bleaching.
  5. 5 Bleaching The oil is mixed with bleaching earth/activated carbon to absorb pigments (carotene), metals and impurities, giving a clearer colour.
  6. 6 Deodorising yields RBDPO / RBD-PKO High-temperature vacuum steam distillation removes odour and residual FFA and distils tocopherols; the result is neutral, food-grade refined, bleached and deodorised oil (RBDPO / RBD-PKO).
  7. 7 Fractionation (crystallisation + filtration) into olein & stearin RBDPO is cooled under control and filtered/pressed: the liquid fraction is RBD palm olein (low melting point) and the solid fraction RBD palm stearin (high melting point). Multi-stage fractionation produces specialty fats.
  8. 8 Fat modification (optional): hydrogenation, interesterification, blending Olein, stearin and CPKO are adjusted for melting point — hydrogenation (vanaspati/vegetable ghee), interesterification and blending (margarine, shortening, CBS/CBE/CBR) — to tailor texture and food functionality.
  9. 9 Finished oleofood products (food-grade) End products: cooking oil, margarine, shortening, industrial frying fats, specialty/confectionery fats, vanaspati, creamers, ice cream fats and bakery/pastry fats — ready for consumers and the food industry.

Oleofood products

Food products derived from vegetable oils

RBD Palm Olein / Palm cooking oil

Minyak goreng sawit (fraksi olein)

The liquid fraction obtained by fractionating RBD palm oil (RBDPO): a clear oil with a low melting point that stays stable when heated. It is the oleofood product with the largest volume in Indonesia.

Uses: Household frying and sautéing, food service and packaged cooking oil; also used as a base for blending with other oils.

from CPO → RBDPO → olein fraction

Margarine

Margarin

A water-in-oil emulsion made from a blend of modified stearin/olein with water, emulsifiers, salt, flavourings and vitamins; plastic in texture, like butter.

Uses: Bread spread, baking and cake ingredient, and cooking; available as table margarine and industrial/bakery margarine.

from RBD palm stearin & olein (blending/interesterification) + water phase

Shortening

Shortening (mentega putih / lemak roti)

A plastic solid fat that is 100% fat (almost no water), formulated from stearin/olein and/or interesterified fats to give dough its shortening effect.

Uses: Bakery, biscuit, cookie and pastry industries for a crisp or tender texture; creaming and laminating.

from RBD palm stearin/olein (blending & interesterification)

Cocoa Butter Substitute (CBS), Equivalent (CBE), Replacer (CBR)

Lemak khusus cokelat (CBS/CBE/CBR)

Specialty fats that mimic the melting behaviour of cocoa butter: CBE is compatible with cocoa butter (made from palm mid-fraction), CBS is a lauric fat from CPKO for compound coatings, and CBR is a non-lauric fat based on hydrogenated/fractionated palm oil.

Uses: Compound chocolate, coatings, fillings and chocolate confectionery, as a cheaper and more stable substitute for or equivalent of cocoa butter.

from Palm mid-fraction (PMF) from multi-stage fractionation of CPO; CBS from CPKO/PKO

Lauric Cocoa Butter Substitute / Coating fat

Lemak coating basis laurat

A lauric fat based on hydrogenated/fractionated palm kernel oil, with a sharp melting profile and good gloss; it does not require tempering.

Uses: Coating/enrobing of wafers, biscuits and compound chocolate; toppings and seasonal coatings.

from CPKO/PKO → fractionation + hydrogenation (lauric fat)

Vanaspati (vegetable ghee)

Vanaspati / ghee nabati

A semi-solid vegetable fat made by partial hydrogenation/blending of palm oil to resemble ghee (samin); granular in texture and heat-resistant.

Uses: Cooking and frying (especially in South Asian and Middle Eastern markets) and in the food industry as a substitute for animal ghee.

from RBD palm olein/stearin (partial hydrogenation & blending)

Industrial frying fat / Frying shortening

Lemak penggorengan industri (frying fat)

A specially formulated frying fat or oil with high oxidative stability, a high smoke point and a long fry life for large-scale deep-frying.

Uses: Industrial frying: instant noodles, chips and snacks, frozen foods, and chicken/fast food.

from RBD palm olein/stearin (blending, sometimes interesterification)

Non-dairy creamer fat / Filled milk fat

Creamer nabati / lemak filled milk

A vegetable fat (often lauric, from CPKO, or hydrogenated olein) that is spray-dried with solids to form powdered creamer or a milk fat substitute.

Uses: Coffee and tea creamer, condensed/filled milk, and powdered beverage mixes.

from CPKO & its fractions (lauric base, often hydrogenated), emulsified & spray-dried

Ice cream fat

Lemak es krim

A vegetable fat that replaces milk fat (often lauric, from CPKO), giving ice cream body, creaminess and the right melt-in-the-mouth profile.

Uses: Ice cream and plant-based or economy frozen desserts, as a substitute for milk fat.

from CPKO/PKO → palm kernel stearin (lauric base); alternatively palm oil/stearin

Bakery & pastry fat / Puff & laminating fat

Lemak bakery & pastry (puff/laminating)

A plastic fat with a wide plasticity range and a controlled melting point so that it can be rolled/laminated without cracking; gives dough crisp, flaky layers.

Uses: Croissants, puff pastry, Danish pastries and other laminated doughs, in both industrial and retail bakeries.

from RBD palm stearin/olein (blending & interesterification)

Cocoa Butter Equivalent (CBE) / Palm Mid Fraction (PMF)

Cocoa Butter Equivalent / palm mid-fraction

The middle fraction of palm oil, rich in symmetrical mono-unsaturated triglycerides (POP), which makes it chemically equivalent to cocoa butter; it can be mixed with cocoa butter in any proportion and still requires tempering.

Uses: Couverture/real chocolate, partly replacing cocoa butter for cost efficiency and bloom resistance.

from CPO → multi-stage fractionation (palm mid-fraction)

Salad oil / Blended cooking oil

Minyak meja & minyak goreng blended

Palm olein that is further fractionated/winterised or blended with other oils (e.g. soybean or canola) so that it stays clear at cool temperatures and tastes light.

Uses: Salad dressings, mayonnaise, table oil, and premium/blended cooking oil.

from RBD palm olein (winterisation/super olein) ± other vegetable oils

As part of the downstream vegetable oil industry, the oleofood sector holds a strategic position in Indonesia's national food security: from cooking oil, a basic household necessity, to the many specialty fats that support the domestic food industry. GIMNI (the Indonesian Vegetable Oil Industry Association) represents members along the whole processing chain — from Refining, Fractionation & Oil Modifications (RFM) and kernel crushing plants to final food products — and helps to safeguard quality, safety and supply, including support for the distribution of food aid and responses to food-related issues. Understanding the difference between the oleofood and oleochemical pathways helps to show the value that Indonesia's vegetable oil industry adds, from the oil palm plantation to the dining table.

Last updated:

Indonesian version: Oleofood (Oleopangan) — Produk Pangan Turunan Minyak Nabati