This page can be printed. For Mac computers, select "Print" from the File menu. For Windows computers, right-click on the document and then select "Print." Q21: The amount of palm oil imported into Japan is increasing? What kind of oil is palm oil? Palm oil is oil extracted from the pulp of oil palms which grow in the tropical regions. It is the most produced type of vegetable oil in the world. Unlike many other vegetable oils, nearly half of palm oil is composed of saturated fatty acids. This means that palm oil maintains a solid state a room temperature. Another characteristic of palm oil is that almost all of the unsaturated fatty acids it contains are oleic acid. Therefore, compared to other types of vegetable oils, palm oil has high stability against oxidization. By taking advantage of these characteristics and utilizing differences in melting point (the temperature at which a substance changes to liquid), palm oil can be processed into various types of oil. Accordingly, palm oil is increasingly used in the oils/fats processing industry. Main uses of palm oil include margarine, processed foods that are fried in oil (potato chips, instant noodles, etc.), and melting chocolate. Palm oil is also used when cooking fried foods at restaurants, etc. Few palm oil products are intended for household use, so consumers rarely see palm oil. Even so, palm oil is the second most frequently used oil in Japan, behind only rapeseed oil. -- CLOSE --