Clear cooking oil has reduced levels of carotene, especially beta-carotene, which is a source of vitamin A. Similarly, the levels of tocopherol, one of the antioxidants that fight free radicals, are reduced. In red palm oil, for example, the alpha-tocopherol content reaches 427 ppm, while in refined palm oil, it remains at 240 ppm. In addition to palm oil, tocopherol is also found in wheat oil.
The micronutrients in edible oil, which are reduced during the palm oil refining process, actually have health benefits such as preventing blindness and premature aging, fighting cancer, and boosting immunity.
However, there is a dilemma during the refining process. The industry knows that carotene is difficult to preserve during the refining process. Therefore, efforts are made to fortify or add beta-carotene from outside. However, this method is costly, so the choice is to use retinyl palmitate.
Adding beta-carotene from the outside also causes significant color changes in edible oil, up to 10-15 times, and the oil becomes nonheat resistant. This is a problem because people know that the color of cooking oil is yellowish, not reddish. The safe way is to try to maintain the natural beta-carotene in palm oil so that there is no need for fortification.
