How Different Oils are Used in the Food Industry

Many professional chefs and food industry experts recognize the importance of using a specific oil to bring out the best flavor in their foods. Bell Chem, your food ingredient supplier, has the inside scoop on how oils are utilized within the food industry.

CANOLA OIL

Manufacturers find canola oil is more often listed as an ingredient on packaged margarines and shortenings than any other oil. Look for canola oil in salad dressings and baked goods. Since it has a reputation as being heart healthy, many manufacturers reach for canola oil with the aim of enticing today’s more health-conscious consumer into purchasing their products. Engineered and primarily generated in Canada, it is the most popular oil utilized in Canada and the second most popular oil in the United States.  

FLAXSEED OIL

A perennial with blue flowers, flaxseed grows in the Great Plains in North America and is one of the primary grains consumed by humanity throughout history. In modern times, flaxseed’s mild taste can be added to viscous beverages to add Omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and fiber. Add vinegar to flaxseed oil for a great salad dressing, or use flaxseed oil as a marinade while processing meat into sandwich ham or beef jerky.

SUNFLOWER OIL

The benefits of sunflower oil include a high smoke point, making it perfect for frying; an extended shelf life when added as an ingredient in foods compared to other oils; and a good base for salad dressings and marinades. Because sunflower oil is a monounsaturated fat, it is often added to high-protein foods, such as protein bars and meal replacement foods, to extend shelf life. Consumers appreciate sunflower oil’s heart healthy benefits due to its elevated amount of linoleic acid.

WHITE MINERAL OIL

Highly refined white mineral oil is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Even better, it is antibacterial. Used in the process of frying foods, white mineral oil is also a component in the wrapping paper of perishable foods to keep them crisp. It also controls foaming during the production of vinegar. 

White mineral oil also has uses outside of foods. The lubricant of choice in the food and beverage industry contains white mineral oil since it is compatible with greases and oils in machinery as well as food. White mineral oil has another important quality as well. It oxidizes very slowly, which makes it ideal for seasoning wood and metal cutting utensils and cutting boards. 

Bell Chem is a food ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including a variety of high-quality food-grade oils. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Industry Uses of Canola Oil

Canola oil is produced from the canola plant, whose name is derived from its point of origin (Canada) plus oil (ola), and has many high-profile health benefits. The plant’s seeds contain 44% oil, which is double the percentage of oil contained in soybean seeds. Bell Chem, an food ingredient distributor, provides high-quality, pure canola oil for its customers for the following uses.

Antistatic/Lubricant

Plastic wrap tends to cling to itself unless a barrier exists between layers. Canola oil fills that necessity, and works as well on paper wrapping. The same advantage exists in industrial machinery as well, with canola oil added between machine gears and other integral parts, acting as a lubricant.

Biofuel Feedstock (Biodiesel)

Canola oil performs favorably in cold weather where other biodiesels may freeze and produces 90% fewer greenhouse gases compared to fossil-driven diesel fuels. This industry is growing rapidly; canola oil currently represents 30% of the biodiesel market.

Cosmetics

Lip glosses and lipsticks, creams and lotions (including suntan lotion), toothpastes, soaps, and shampoos frequently contain canola oil as an ingredient to allow products to flow easily as the natural vitamin E in canola oil protects and repairs damaged cells.

Essential Oils

From massage oils to essential oils, a base of canola oil penetrates the body’s thick epidermis to allow potent oils to penetrate deeply.

Foods

Heart-healthy consumers value cholesterol-free canola oil for its high percentage of unsaturated fat; the polyunsaturated fats in canola oil are healthy omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Leading culinary masters enjoy cooking with light, clear, delicious canola oil. Its high-smoke point is advantageous when deep frying or cooking over extreme temperatures. Canola oil is a traditional ingredient in many salad dressings, shortenings and margarine, cooking sprays, coffee creamers and whiteners, and breads and crackers, to name a few.

Fertilizer

Golf courses sprayed with canola oil show significant overall growth and good health. 

Pesticides

Many products designed to rid your home or yard from unwanted fungi, plants, or insects contain canola oil. 

Bell Chem, an food ingredient distributor, is based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products, such as canola oil, stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.