Canola oil processing in Canada

Canola is the registered trademark of the Canola Council of Canada for the seed, oil and meal derived from rapeseed cultivars low in erucic acid and low in glucosinolates. Conversion to canola cultivars on a commercial scale started in 1976; in 1981, ca. 87% of the brassica-based oil crop in Canada was of canola quality. Canola oil is the most important oil in Canada. Processing of the oil is, in its essentials, conventional. A few problems not usually encountered with other oils are its chlorophyll content which requires extra processing and analytical effort, and certain limitations in crystallization behavior when highly hydrogenated. Advantages are that stable oils can be produced at moderate degree of hydrogenation, and without hydrogenation in the case of salad oil. New developments in processing of the oil have led to the production of acid-degummed, crude oil on a commercial scale. This opens the possibility to apply physical refining to the oil.