Palm Oil: Production, Processing, Characterization, and Uses

Palm Oil: Production, Processing, Characterization, and Uses serves as a rich source of information on the production, processing, characterization and utilization of palm oil and its components. It also includes several topics related to oil palm genomics, tissue culture and genetic engineering of oil palm. Physical, chemical and polymorphic properties of palm oil and its components as well as the measurement and maintenance of palm oil quality are included and may be of interest to researchers and food manufacturers. General uses of palm oil/kernel oil and their fractions in food, nutritional and oleochemical products are discussed as well as the potential use of palm oil as an alternative to trans fats. Some attention is also given to palm biomass, bioenergy, biofuels, waste management, and sustainability.

Oi-Ming Lai is a Professor in Enzyme Technology from the Department of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia. She obtained her Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Universiti Putra Malaysia in 1999. She is the coeditor of Healthful Lipids (AOCS Press), the author or co-author of more than 100 referenced SCI publications, more than 8 book chapters and the holder of 8 patents. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in enzyme technology, food biotechnology, industrial biotechnology, and food biocatalysis. Oi-Ming’s research program includes the development and improvement of structured lipids, upscaling and bioreactor design and kinetics, and product diversification of various oilseed components and its by-products. She has won numerous professional awards including the WIPO’s Best Invention by Woman Award in 2008 in Brussels, Belgium. She also sits on the Editorial Board of the Food and Bioprocess Technology Journal published by Springer USA.

Chin-Ping Tan is an associate professor in the Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia. He obtained his B.Sc. in Food Science and Technology and Ph.D. in Food Processing from Universiti Putra Malaysia in 1998 and 2001, respectively. From 2002 to 2004, he served as a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow at National Food Research Institute, Japan. He has a strong interest in physicochemical properties and changes in quality of palm oil products. His current research interests center on lipid science and technology, food nanotechnology, food emulsion, food processing, flavor sciences, and thermal analysis. He has published 5 book chapters, over 120 refereed papers in international refereed journals and presented more than 130 papers in various national and international conferences. In June 2011, he was appointed Visiting Professor at King Saud University, Riyadh, where he is involved in the research related to extraction and modification of plant oil from underutilized oilseeds. To date, he has received more than 40 research awards by various national and international bodies. Most recently, he was awarded the ProSPER.Net-Scopus Young Researcher Award 2010, TWAS Young Affiliate Fellow (2010–2014) and Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Excellent Researcher in Science and Technology in 2011.

Casimir C. Akoh received the Ph.D. degree (1988) in food science from Washington State University, Pullman. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biochemistry from Washington State University and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, respectively. He is a Distinguished Research Professor of Food Science and Technology and an Adjunct Professor of Foods and Nutrition at The University of Georgia, Athens. He is the coeditor of the book Carbohydrates as Fat Substitutes (Marcel Dekker, Inc.), coeditor of Healthful Lipids (AOCS Press), editor of Handbook of Functional Lipids (CRC Press), the author or coauthor of over 210 referenced SCI publications, and the holder of three U.S. patents. He is an ISI Highly Cited Researcher in Agricultural Science. Springer Publisher listed his paper as the top 5 most cited articles in 2008/2009 in the J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (2005), American Oil Chemists’ Society (2006), and the American Chemical Society (2006). He serves on the editorial boards of six journals and is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists, the American Oil Chemists’ Society, and the American Chemical Society. He has received numerous international professional awards for his work on lipids including 1998 IFT Samuel Cate Prescott Award, 2003 D. W. Brooks Award, 2004 AOCS Stephen S. Chang Award, 2008 IFT Stephen S. Chang Award, 2008 IFT Research and Development Award, 2009 AOCS Biotechnology Division Lifetime Achievement Award, and 2012 Supelco/Nicholas Pelick-AOCS Research Award. His research interest is on improving human health through healthful lipids produced by enzymatic reactions.