**Allanblackia Tree and Seed Oil:**
– Originating in Africa, Allanblackia oil is derived from the seeds of Allanblackia trees, which belong to the genus Allanblackia in the Clusiaceae family.
– The seeds contain up to 70% oil, mainly composed of stearic, oleic, and palmitic acids, with a high stearic acid content of 52-58%.
– Two main triglycerides, SOS and sn-SOO, make up the fatty acids in the oil, which has a melting point of around 34°C, suitable for food products like margarine.
**Seed Production and Harvesting:**
– Current annual production of Allanblackia seed oil is around 100 metric tonnes, with efforts to increase production through domestication in Tanzania, Ghana, and Nigeria.
– Sustainable harvesting methods are being implemented to conserve biodiversity, promote Allanblackia as a cash crop, and develop sustainability standards in the supply chain.
– Domestication programs aim to address limited tree supply, with organizations like Novel Development Tanzania and the World Agroforestry Centre involved in increasing production through participatory tree domestication approaches.
**Oil Production and Processing:**
– An individual Allanblackia tree can produce up to 300 fruits a year, with an average yield of 100 to 150 fruits per season.
– Harvesters manually extract and clean seeds, which are then sun-dried for 1-2 weeks before being transported to oil mills for pressing.
– The crude oil is decanted, filtered, and stored at 40-45°C, with the residual cake used for energy generation in the mill, and the oil purified before use in manufacturing products.
**Application and Benefits of Allanblackia Oil:**
– Allanblackia oil, historically used for almost a century, is now applied in products like margarine and confectionery as a structuring fat.
– It is high in unsaturated fats, contains stearic and oleic acids, rich in antioxidants, and offers potential health benefits, finding use in the food and cosmetic industries.
– EU regulations now require listing vegetable oils in food products, leading to the incorporation of Allanblackia seed oil in margarine production.
**Conservation and Regulation Efforts:**
– Conservation initiatives in areas like the Eastern Arc Mountains aim to protect biodiversity, preserve ecosystems, involve communities in conservation efforts, and promote sustainable development practices.
– New EU laws on food information, implemented in 2014, focus on improving food transparency through regulations impacting food labeling and compliance requirements for the food industry.
– The European Commission plays a role in enforcing food regulations, overseeing food labeling laws, monitoring compliance, providing consumer information, and collaborating with member states to ensure regulatory adherence.
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Allanblackia oil is a vegetable oil that comes from the seeds of trees of the genus Allanblackia. This tree can be found in the wet tropical belt of Africa. Because of its unique blend of fatty acids, the oil from Allanblackia seeds has melting properties that make it excellent to use as structuring fat in food products, e.g. margarines.
Currently, Allanblackia seeds are harvested in the wild to produce the oil, but these producers cannot produce enough oil to meet market demand. Finding sustainable ways to increase production could bring many social, environmental, and economic benefits to the communities which produce Allanblackia. To ensure increased production is sustainable and benefits the communities growing the trees, a number of organizations have collaborated to develop a set of standards and methods as guidelines for increasing Allanblackia production. Other organizations are working to establish tree nurseries and other sustainable means of domesticating Allanblackia.