VIRGIN COCONUT OIL FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Virgin Coconut Oil and how does it differ from the common cooking oil?
Virgin Coconut Oil is produced from fresh coconut meat through natural processing and undergoing without any chemical processing. It is the pure form of coconut oil, water-like in color, clarity, and viscosity. It has a distinct aroma of fresh coconut thus is easier to drink as functional food. (A functional food provides not only nutrition but also therapeutic effects)
The common coconut cooking oil is produced from copra. The oil is extracted from copra by pressing at high temperatures. Being highly contaminated, it is refined by treating with high concentration of phosphoric acid and caustic soda, and steam-heated to about 300 degrees centigrade. The resulting oil is technically called RBD Coconut Oil (Refined, Bleached, and Deodorized Cooking Oil). Due to higher degree of deterioration due to handling and storage of copra, and intense processing, it has a reduced content of Lauric Acid, the main active ingredient responsible for the therapeutic effects of VCO. Further, because of its chemical processing, bland taste and high viscosity, the oil is difficult to drink.
2. If all VCOs are produced from fresh coconut meat, why the VCOs available in the market have a different smell (rancid order, rotten-like color, and odor of caramelized protein)?
First reason is the lack of freshness of the coconut fruit. Once the fruit is harvested from the tree, it immediately starts deterioration. The nut maybe freshly-opened but has been harvested already several days earlier. This condition usually happens when the VCO producer simply buys dehusked nuts. Coconut farmers usually stock their nuts up to the economical quantity of dehusking and delivery, which can take several days.
Second is processing method. Cold-process and fermentation, the most common method of producing VCO, generates rancid smell and taste. Heated process produces VCO with “latik” smell.
Third is processing time. Fresh coconut meat is rich with enzymes that decompose carbohydrates, fats and proteins very fast. The rancid and sometimes rotten odor, are due to the decomposition products: acetic acid from carbohydrates, free fatty acids from fats, and rotten protein.
Fourth is intensity of heating. Heating above 100 degrees centigrade, which can happen in the dry process of producing VCO, cooks the protein and caramelize the sugar present in the coconut meat, giving off the odor of caramelized protein. Some people may like this odor. Due to presence of heating by-products in the oil, some harshness in the throat (tends to be “caught”) maybe felt when drinking it.
3. Some VCOs I see inside malls and other air-conditioned areas have sediments. Is this okay?
The fat content of VCO solidifies when cooled starting at about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. VCO in solid form has the same efficacy as that in its liquid form. Thus solidified VCO is okay. When the solidified VCO is warmed back to room temperature, the sediments should dissolve and completely disappear. Non-dissolution of the sediments is an indicator that these are possibly contaminants.
4. How will I use the VCO?
There are many ways to take VCO: drink it directly by the spoonful; mix it with warm food or drinks; use it as substitute for butter and margarine. To condition skin or cure skin illness, massage it gently on affected until fully absorbed. To condition hair, cure dandruff, or control hair fall, massage unto scalp, and rinse after 30 minutes, or preferably leave it overnight.
5. There are so many brands of VCO available in the market today. How will I choose the one to buy?
It is very easy to produce a VCO, but it is not easy to produce a truly fresh and consistent quality VCO. The following are recommended when you buy a VCO:
Check the amount of essential contents indicated in the product label. A good VCO production process should achieve high oil extraction rate, indicated by a lauric acid content of at least 50%. Caution: Some VCO in the market have very high lauric acid content indicated in the label. But if all the indicated fat contents are added, it exceeds 100%, implying erroneous figures.
Check the free fatty acid (FFA) content, which is an indicator of degree of deterioration during processing and storage. FFA content should be way below the maximum limit of 0.2%
Check the presence of impurities: water, volatile matter and iron. A good VCO production process leaves behind very small amount of impurities in the product, below the maximum limits specified in the product standard.
Check the presence of hazardous impurities: copper, arsenic and lead. The VCO production process should completely eliminate these impurities or keep at levels way below the maximum limit of the product standard (0.4 mg/kg for copper, 0.1 mg/kg for lead and arsenic)
Check the physical appearance. A good quality VCO is water-like in color, clarity and flow.
Taste-drink it. A good quality VCO retains the natural fresh aroma of freshly cut coconut, thin consistency, and smooth to drink.
We recommend VCO Fresh, produced by Coco Nutrify. VCO Fresh is produced from organic coconuts, the harvest of which is fully controlled by the factory in partnership with coconut farmers, ensuring correct maturity, prevention of contamination, and prompt processing (within 24 hours from harvest). The nuts are quickly converted to oil within 2 to 3 hours from opening of the nuts using state-of-the-art production methods: cold-pressed, centrifuged, vacuum pasteurized and dried and micro-filtered. It is produced under world-class management system on quality, health and safety and environment, aligned to ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 International Standards, and Halal Certification standard. VCO Fresh retains the real natural fresh aroma and taste of virgin coconut oil.