Due to shifting tastes in the industry, edible oil companies must transform their manufacturing processes to keep pace. Automatic sampling systems easily adapt to these new products to optimize sampling accuracy, while minimizing the risks associated with updating production processes.

Processing and Manufacturing edible oils

Oils used for eating and cooking, such as sunflower, canola and flax, are composed of a variety of components and features, which all play a part in their refinement and qualities. When commercially processed, these oils need to be consistent in color and taste, and free of impurities that could negatively affect the quality of the oil.

Manufacturing edible oils involves cleaning the seeds, grinding them, pressing, and extracting the oil. After extraction, the oil is usually refined, mixed with an alkaline substance, and washed in a centrifuge. Further washing and refining follows, and then the oil is filtered and/or distilled before it’s packaged and ready for purchase.

Throughout this process, various sample sizes and sampling equipment are needed to produce a high-quality product. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) mandate that little or no contaminants can enter the processes. As such, manufacturers need to use sanitary sampling equipment at various points of the process to meet these requirements.

A typical oil-extraction process

Sampling is Essential to Producing High Quality Edible Oils

Sampling equipment produces a fixed amount of precise sample per sampling event, either in an individual grab or in multiple, incremental grabs to create a composite. This ensures the total sample collected is representative. The equipment can extract nearly any sample size in any of period of time. It’s able to handle a wide variety of oil viscosities, from thin to thick-like consistencies, to accurately sample at every point in the process.

Sampling equipment can be used indoors and outdoors, and you can get custom enclosures to house the samplers and protect them in any environment. You can even steam heat samplers to ensure that oils remain fluid during the sampling process. The equipment is also automated with the help of controllers, preventing operators from physically collecting samples.

Sampling equipment can be easily adapted to fit onto almost any piece of processing equipment, including tanks, pipes, tubing or vessels. Multiple sizes or types of collection containers can be adapted to fit onto the samplers. Updating the system to process equipment can be easily done with tri-clamps, flanges, threaded connections or bolted hubs.

Adapting samplers can help oil producers:

• Reduce sample bias
• Minimize operator error
• Improve operator safety
• Create repeatable, composite samples
• Sample at critical process events, such as packaging or custody transfer

Sentry sampling equipment meets other industry certifications, including sanitary regulations for dairy sampling, that can be utilized for edible oils as well.

With consistent performance over a wide range of process applications, environmental conditions and temperatures, Sentry ISOLOK samplers offer a highly accurate, fixed volume automatic sampling solution.

Contact us at +1-262-567-7256, or complete our online contact form for more information on using ISOLOK samplers for edible oils.