Storability and quality indices of palm oil in different packaging containers in Nigeria

Palm oil was obtained from Linkjon commercial processing oil mill with food grade equipment at Umunze in Anambra State. The samples were stored at ambient conditions for one year in five different containers (transparent plastic, opaque blue plastic, opaque white plastic, green bottle and transparent bottle). Quality indices were determined for moisture content, free fatty acid (FFA), acid value and saponification value at bimonthly interval using standard methods. Moisture content varied between 1.0 and 1.5% in all treatments during the 12 months storage period. The initial value for FFA was 4.18% and this increased to 11.85% for palm oil stored in green bottle and lowest with 10.16% in palm oil stored in opaque blue plastic container at the end of storage. Saponification values increased from initial 191 to 250 among the treatments within the storage period. The increases observed in FFA, acid and saponification values could be attributed to moisture absorption from storage environment and oxidation. Although the values of the quality parameters varied with the type of storage containers used, there were no significant differences (P≤0.05) among treatments.   Key words: Palm oil, quality indices, storability, containers.