Shortenings are used for frying and baking. Commercial frying operations require that fried products have a good shelf life. Since the fat in the fried products has a large area that is exposed to air, it is susceptible and this will cause the products to become rancid. For this reason, the use of polyunsaturated oil which is not hydrogenated is discouraged. However, unhydrogenated palm oil is very beneficial to be used as a frying shortening because it is very stable. Palm oil owes its good oxidative stability to its composition: it contains only a  trace of the unstable linolenic acid. The tocopherol (380-390 ppm) in palm oil acts as a powerful antioxidant.

Main Researcher: Dr Nor Aini Idris