The 3-monochloro-1,2-propanediolesters (3-MCPDE) are chemical food contaminants that are carcinogenic.The 3-MCPDE is formed due to high deodorisation temperature at there fining stage of crude palm oil (CPO). The primary precursor for 3-MCPDE formation is chloride which is present in the plantation and mill where it gets into the palm oil. Sources of chloride are water, fertilisers, pesticides, and soil (Arris et al.,2020). Many studies show dependency between3-MCPDE and total chloride content (TCC) in palm oil. A validated method for determining total chloride content (TCC) is critical for mitigating the presence of 3-MCPDE in refined palm oil products.Thus, MPOB has modified the official method(ASTM D4929) analytical procedure and validated it to determine TCC in CPO and secondary oils derived from empty fruit bunch oil, palm press fibre oil, palm oil mill effluent, and sludge palm oil using a Total Chloride Analyzer (TCA). TCA consists of an automatic combination of oxidative combustion and coulo metric titration that is simple to use and can produce accurate data.

Main Researcher: Abdul Niefaizal Abdul Hammid
E-mail: niefaizal@mpob.gov.my