Free Fatty Acid

All oil will under hydrolysis (action with water liberating one the of fatty acid - this liberated fatty acid is called FFA or Free Fatty Acid


Oil (Triglyceride) + Water - FFA + Diglyceide (DG, ie One glycerol + 2 Fatty Acid)

So during the raining season, CPO quality deteriorate in FFA increase due to the water come into contact with the fruits (especially the part that is being bruise when the fruit bunch drop onto the ground)

Free Fatty Acid is the most important quality parameter in all oil trades, crude or refined, and is well governed by established trading rules

FFA is always expressed in terms of the majority of the fatty acid molecules present

e.g. of FFA in oil
CPO (as palmitic) - 5% max (Poram)
CPKO (as Lauric) - 4% max (Meoma)
CDSBO (as Oleic) - 0.75 % max (NOPA) or 1% max (NSPA)

Another parameter that sometimes used is called Acid Value - this parameter need not mentioned the fatty acid involved

Convertion
Acid Value = FFA as Oleic x 2 or FFA as pamitic x 2.19 or ffa as lauric x 2.805

During the refining, FFA is reduce to 0.05 - 0.1%. For most modern Food Act legilation, FFA < 0.2 to be fit for human consumption (funny concept -our ancestor have been consume crude peanut oi (chinese), crude coconut oil (india), crude palm oil (even now at africa), and all of them are healthy)
Why??.....to be continue