Processing Methods and Standards
When people hear the word "virgin" applied to oil, a common reaction is to think of virgin olive oil. The International Olive Oil Council has clearly outlined what a virgin olive oil is and in what manner it may be produced. For virgin coconut oil, no such official standard exists yet, although there are generally understood principles in the body of literature and research surrounding virgin coconut oil.
In general terms, the processing of virgin olive and coconut oils share a common philosophy: no thermal or chemical treatment during any stage of oil extraction or purification. However, there are significant differences beyond this common philosophy. In olive oil, different grades of product are produced depending on the quality of the original material and the basic initial process (washing and crushing). Both utility and premium grades of olive oil share the same initial processing procedure. With coconut oil, the standard industrial grades, natural village-pressed and virgin coconut oil are derived through completely different technologies and methods.
Starting Materials
Virgin Oil de Coco-Creme is produced with select raw materials by state-of-the-art technology in a hygienic environment. Based on the research about the subject, virgin oil should be extracted and purified without using high temperature and with no chemical or physical refining. Virgin Oil de Coco-Creme is produced from select, graded coconuts with specific age and size characteristics that maximize the benefits of coconut. Specifically, coconuts are chosen for optimal chemical and physical qualities. The coconut meat used is all-white, meaning the brown part (called the testa) is removed. This achieves two objectives: (1) A clear white coconut oil is produced, and (2) Medium-chain fatty acids are maximized.
In contrast, standard coconut oil and even village-pressed natural oils use all grades and varying maturity of coconuts, and the brown testa is not removed. This is called copra processing.
Extraction and Purification
In the Virgin Oil de Coco-Creme process, fresh, all-white coconut meat is chopped, ground and pressed within two hours of opening the coconut to obtain a milk emulsion consisting of moisture, primary oil and insoluble protein. The oil is separated from the other components in the emulsion by gravity centrifugation methods. This separated oil is pure unrefined virgin oil. It is 100% pure, with very low free fatty acids of <0.1 % and very low moisture content of no more than 1%.
Many companies claim that their oil is cold-pressed, but they still have to ferment or heat the coconut at some point to remove water. This has the effect of destroying the natural Vitamin E and tocopherols, which are needed for stability and protection against rancidity. Our oil uses no refining, bleaching or deodorization, and no heat or chemical treatments are used during the entire production process. The complexity of this process is why our oil costs more.
Efficacy and Functionality
Virgin Oil de Coco-Creme is purified by mechanical centrifugation. It is unrefined, contains natural vitamin E, and has antioxidant, antiseptic and antifungal properties. By virtue of its stability and purity, it is pharmaceutical grade in spite of being unrefined. It has a very light texture and a natural, sweet coconut aroma and flavor. It's also a superb emollient with high absorption ability, and no tacky skin feel common to many oil compounds.
If you want to read more about the health benefits of coconut oil, read one of our books on the subject, or visit the
Weston Price Foundation Website for interesting articles by Dr. Mary Enig (author of Know Your Fats). For those who want to know about an alternative theory to cholesterol as a cause of heart disease, go to the Website of Dr. Uffe Ravnskov, author of "The Cholesterol Myths."
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