Palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil-palm fruit and is not interchangeable with palm oil derived from the fleshy mesocarp. Whole palm kernel oil, kernel olein, kernel stearin, crude oil, refined oil and kernel meal are separate products. A comparable oil lot needs product and fraction identity, crude or refined state, processing history, full analytical profile, quality and contaminant evidence, origin and mill or refinery, package or bulk-tank history, quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window and information vintage.
The figures below are identity characteristics in the current FAO/WHO Codex Standard for Named Vegetable Oils, CXS 210-1999, modified in 2024. They support analytical identity assessment for palm kernel oil presented for human consumption; they are not production totals, guaranteed lot results, current availability, a physical offer or a delivered price.
Palm kernel oil comes from the fruit kernel, while palm oil comes from the fleshy mesocarp. Their fatty-acid profiles, physical characteristics, processing streams and commercial uses differ. Palm kernel meal or expeller is the solid co-product after kernel-oil removal. Atlas keeps anatomical source, product stage and intended use explicit before comparing quality, price, sustainability or trade evidence.
Codex lists palm kernel oil, palm kernel olein and palm kernel stearin as distinct identities with different physical and chemical ranges. Fractionation, refining, bleaching, deodorization, hydrogenation, blending and other processing history therefore remain attached to the lot. A label such as palm kernel product is not enough to transfer an analytical result or price across the whole oil and its fractions.
CXS 210 lists palm-kernel-oil relative density from 0.899 to 0.914 at the stated temperature basis, saponification value from 230 to 254 milligrams potassium hydroxide per gram, and iodine value from 14.1 to 21.0. It separately lists refractive index, unsaponifiable matter and fatty-acid ranges, including the characteristic lauric-acid profile. One matching value cannot authenticate a sample; applicable methods, the complete profile, sample identity and chain of custody remain attached.
A current physical comparison needs whole oil or named fraction, crude or refined state, processing and intended use, governing specification, laboratory certificate, origin and mill or refinery, sustainability and chain-of-custody evidence where required, package or tank, quantity, currency, Incoterm, load and destination points, freight, delivery window and current permitted observations. Atlas does not convert a palm-oil benchmark or identity range into a live palm-kernel-oil price.
No. Palm oil is derived from the fruit mesocarp, while palm kernel oil comes from the kernel. They have different composition, processing streams, specifications and markets.
No. Whole palm kernel oil and the olein and stearin fractions have separate Codex identity ranges and must retain the fractionation and processing record.
The current named-vegetable-oils standard lists 230 to 254 milligrams potassium hydroxide per gram. It is one identity characteristic, not a guaranteed result for an untested lot.
Kernel-derived identity, whole oil or fraction, crude or refined state, processing and intended use, full identity and quality analysis, contaminants, origin and mill or refinery, sustainability and custody evidence where contracted, lot, package or tank, quantity, currency, Incoterm, load and destination points, delivery window and evidence date.
Figures retain their source, period and review date. Corroboration is not promoted to primary evidence.