Purity status of some populsd: Brands of soybean oils available in the local market of Dhaka city

Abstract

There are several brands of oil available in our local markets but this edible oil of
vegetable origin is hardly tested to control their quality. The main purpose of this
work is to check the quality o f some oil brands usually consumed by the population
and also to correlate the price variation of different brands, their popularity and
purity status. On the basis of a questionnaire ten most popular brands of oil samples
(9 local brands Phoolkapi, Rupchanda, Tear, Rupan, Everyday, Fresh, Shaad, Janata,
Starship and one imported brand Chief) were collected randomly from ten different
markets o f Dhaka city for the experimental work. The physicochemical properties
(mainly peroxide value, saponification value, acid value and fatty acid composition) of
these oils were analyzed in the laboratory to test their purity status. Ranking of
different local brands in terms of consumption, price and peroxide value varies
grossly. Slight differences were also found in percent of individual fatty acids among
the brands. One o f the brand contains higher palmitic acid than the other indicating
contamination of palm oil. Publicity appears to be the main reason for high turn over
o f some specific brands besides considering other factors, like degree o f purity. It
appears that the brands with high demands are selling at higher prices although
their relative quality is not good.