Is Palm Oil All Natural? The Truth Behind the World's Most Common Oil

November 13, 2025 •

4 min read

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), palm oil is found in nearly 50% of the packaged products in supermarkets, from food to cosmetics. But despite its natural origin from the oil palm fruit, the question of "is palm oil all natural?" is not straightforward and depends entirely on how it is processed.

Quick Summary

Palm oil's naturalness depends on its processing. While crude red palm oil is minimally processed, most commercially used palm oil is heavily refined to remove color, odor, and flavor, altering its natural state and nutritional value.

Key Points

Palm oil is a natural vegetable oil: At its origin, palm oil comes from the fleshy fruit of the oil palm tree.
Refined palm oil is highly processed: Most commercial palm oil is refined, bleached, and deodorized (RBD), stripping it of its natural color, flavor, and many nutrients.
Unrefined red palm oil is less processed: Red palm oil is a crude, minimally processed form that retains its natural color and higher levels of antioxidants.
Processing removes nutritional value: The extensive refining process destroys or removes the beta-carotene and other beneficial compounds found in crude red palm oil.
It replaced harmful trans fats: Palm oil gained popularity in food manufacturing as a replacement for unhealthy trans fats in products like margarine and shortening.
Not all palm oil is the same: The 'naturalness' of palm oil depends entirely on the level of processing it has undergone, making the distinction between refined and unrefined forms important for consumers.

What is Palm Oil and Where Does It Come From?

Palm oil is a type of edible vegetable oil derived from the fruit of the oil palm tree, specifically the fleshy, reddish pulp (mesocarp). A distinct oil, palm kernel oil, is also produced from the seed or kernel found inside the fruit. The oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, is native to West Africa and has been a food source for thousands of years. Today, however, the majority of the world's palm oil supply is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia, which together account for over 85% of global production. Its use is widespread due to the oil palm's high yield, versatility, and efficiency as a crop.

The Two Faces of Palm Oil: Crude vs. Refined

The term "palm oil" can refer to two very different products in terms of their natural state. The distinction lies in the level of processing they undergo.

Crude Red Palm Oil (Minimally Processed)

Directly pressed from the fresh fruit of the oil palm.
Retains its natural reddish-orange hue due to a high concentration of beta-carotene, the same pigment found in carrots.
Possesses a distinct, somewhat nutty flavor and aroma.
Contains a higher level of natural antioxidants like vitamin E and carotenoids.
Often used in traditional cooking in West African and Southeast Asian countries.

Refined, Bleached, and Deodorized (RBD) Palm Oil (Highly Processed)

Goes through an extensive, multi-step refining process to purify, bleach, and deodorize it.
The process removes the oil's natural color, odor, and flavor, making it a neutral, colorless fat ideal for industrial food manufacturing.
Used in close to 50% of supermarket products, including baked goods, snacks, and margarine, as it acts as a stable and semi-solid fat at room temperature.
Most of the health-promoting compounds present in its crude form are lost during this rigorous refining.

The Industrial Manufacturing Process

For the vast majority of consumer products, the palm oil starts as a natural fruit but is heavily altered through industrial processing. The steps involved include:

Sterilization: Fresh fruit bunches are cooked with high-pressure steam to deactivate enzymes that would increase free fatty acids, ensuring quality.
Threshing: The softened fruits are separated from the bunches using a machine.
Digestion: The fruits are mashed to break open oil-bearing cells and prepare them for extraction.
Pressing: The oil is mechanically squeezed from the fruit pulp.
Clarification: Impurities are separated from the crude palm oil, often using heat and settling tanks.
Refining: This is where the crude oil is bleached with clay to remove color and deodorized with high-temperature steam under a vacuum to remove odors and free fatty acids, creating the neutral-flavored RBD oil.
Fractionation (Optional): The refined oil is cooled to separate it into liquid (palm olein) and solid (palm stearin) fractions for different uses.

Comparison: Unrefined vs. Refined Palm Oil


Feature	Unrefined (Red) Palm Oil	Refined (RBD) Palm Oil
Processing Level	Minimal processing (pressing, clarification)	Extensive industrial processing (bleaching, deodorization)
Appearance	Reddish-orange color	Colorless, transparent
Flavor & Aroma	Distinctive, strong, and somewhat nutty	Neutral, odorless, and bland
Antioxidant Content	High in antioxidants like beta-carotene and vitamin E	Low in antioxidants due to refining process
Primary Use	Traditional cooking, specialized health food products	Industrial food manufacturing, processed snacks, cosmetics
Natural Status	More natural, but still involves some processing	Heavily processed, far from its original natural state

Natural vs. Highly Processed: What it Means for You

The distinction between unrefined and refined versions of palm oil is crucial for consumers. While both originate from a natural fruit, they are not interchangeable in terms of their properties or their place in a diet. The "all natural" label often relies on the product's origin, not its final state. The refinement process fundamentally changes the oil, stripping it of its original color, flavor, and much of its nutritional value beyond fat content.

For most people consuming palm oil in processed goods like crackers, margarine, or chocolate, they are consuming a highly refined ingredient. For those using red palm oil for cooking, they are using a more natural, though still processed, product. This situation mirrors other products like wheat, where the whole grain is natural, but refined white flour is a processed derivative.

The Replacement of Trans Fats

One important context for refined palm oil's prevalence is its role as a replacement for partially hydrogenated oils containing trans fats, which were shown to be particularly harmful to health. Its natural semi-solid texture and stability make it an effective substitute for creating spreadable products and baked goods without resorting to artificial hydrogenation. While this has led to the reduction of trans fats in many foods, it has increased the consumption of saturated fat, for which health advice is mixed.

Conclusion: A Nuanced Answer

So, is palm oil all natural? The answer is both yes and no. It is derived from a natural plant source, but the palm oil most people encounter in commercial products is far from natural. The industrial refining process fundamentally alters its composition and strips away much of its inherent nutritional content. Consumers should be aware of the difference between minimally-processed red palm oil and the highly-processed RBD palm oil when evaluating food and personal care products.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. For specific health and dietary concerns, please consult a qualified professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Compared to partially hydrogenated vegetable oils containing trans fats, refined palm oil is often considered a healthier option. However, compared to oils high in polyunsaturated fats, it is less favorable due to its high saturated fat content. Unrefined red palm oil retains more nutrients than the refined version.

Palm oil comes from the fleshy pulp of the palm fruit and is about 50% saturated fat. Palm kernel oil is extracted from the seed inside the fruit and is significantly higher in saturated fat, at over 80%.

While refining produces a neutral, stable oil favored by manufacturers, it does remove most of the original color, taste, and antioxidants like beta-carotene, which are present in unrefined red palm oil.

Palm oil is in a vast number of products, and labels might list it simply as 'palm oil' or its fractions like 'palm olein' or 'palm stearin'. The refined version is odorless, colorless, and primarily used in packaged, processed goods.

Palm oil is versatile, stable at high temperatures, and semi-solid at room temperature, which gives products a desirable texture and a longer shelf life. It is also a very efficient and high-yielding crop, making it cost-effective for mass production.

Yes, 'sustainable' refers to the farming and sourcing practices, not the refining process. Sustainable palm oil, like conventional palm oil, can be, and often is, extensively refined after harvest.

Unrefined red palm oil is less common in Western diets and is typically sold as a specialty product or used in traditional cooking. It can often be found in specialty grocery stores or online.