Although canola¡¯s high oil content makes it a valuable commodity, it also makes it difficult to process compared to seeds that contain less oil. For example, an oil processor in Pennsylvania recently tried to run canola through the extruder they use to process soybeans.
Where is canola made in South Africa?
Most of South Africa’s canola is produced in the Western Cape. Canola meal and oil cake, which are by-products of oil processing, are good sources of animal protein with canola grain containing 36% to 46% oil and 20% to 24% protein and the canola oilcake containing about 35% protein.
How are canola seeds processed?
At maturity, the seeds are threshed from the pod by a combine. Seeds are crushed to extract the oil (canola seed contains 35-45% oil), followed by several more processing steps to be ready for the consumer market as bottled canola oil. The byproduct after crushing canola seed is used as a high-quality livestock feed.
How is canola oil processed?
Today, solvent extraction is one of the most popular methods of processing canola oil. Due to its high oil content, canola must be pre-pressed down to 16-20% oil by weight before being fed to the solvent extractor.