¿Cómo Se Hace El Aceite De Coco? [Proceso En Fábrica]

How Coconut Oil is Made Millions of liters of coconut oil are consumed worldwide each year, but how is this ingredient, which has gained popularity in both the culinary and cosmetic industries, produced? To find out, we're going to visit one of the largest coconut oil processing plants in the Philippines, the world's largest exporter of this product, with a global production exceeding 3 million tons annually. Coconut oil, extracted from the white flesh of the coconut, has been used for centuries in tropical cultures for its nutritional and medicinal properties. The manufacturing process for this oil, which is obtained from the coconut meat, begins long before the final product reaches store shelves. Let's get started! HARVESTING Unlike other vegetable oils, coconut oil begins its journey in the crowns of coconut trees. These trees, which can reach heights of up to 30 meters, grow abundantly in tropical coastal regions. On the vast plantations of the Philippines, thousands of workers known as "mamumuko," or coconut pickers, are tasked with harvesting the fruit. Armed with long bamboo poles fitted with blades at the ends, these expert harvesters select the ripe coconuts, recognizable by their brown husk and hollow sound when tapped. With a precise motion, they cut the stem that connects the coconut to the tree, causing it to fall to the ground. An experienced harvester can collect up to 1,000 coconuts in a day. Harvesting generally takes place every 45-60 days, depending on weather conditions and the variety of coconut tree. Once on the ground, the coconuts are picked by hand and transported by trucks or carts pulled by water buffalo to the sorting centers. There, an initial selection is made, discarding damaged or immature coconuts. The plantation visited covers more than 5,000 hectares and produces around 50 million coconuts annually, enough to produce approximately 3,000 tons of virgin coconut oil. RECEIVING The selected coconuts arrive at the processing plant in large trucks, each carrying up to 10,000 coconuts. In the receiving area, a team of workers performs a second quick visual and manual inspection. The processing plant, a facility occupying more than 15,000 square meters, has the capacity to process up to 500,000 coconuts per day. After inspection, the coconuts are transferred by conveyor belts to large storage tanks. These tanks, with a capacity to store up to 1 million coconuts, are designed to keep the coconuts in optimal condition for up to 3 days before processing. Temperature and humidity are carefully controlled to prevent pulp degradation and ensure the highest quality of the extracted oil. HUSKING The first step in coconut processing is hulling. Specialized machines, capable of processing up to 3,000 coconuts per hour, handle this task. Each coconut is placed on a rotating stand, and a sharp blade cuts the outer shell into two perfect halves. A vibration system separates the white flesh (also known as copra) from the hard shell. The shells are not discarded; they are crushed and used as fuel for the plant's boilers. The white flesh, which contains the oil, undergoes intensive washing with purified water to remove any residue from the shell. This clean flesh is...