Canola and sunflower oil are both commonly used oils in the natural food industry. They are light in color and flavor, and you'll find them used in products like baked goods, snacks, granolas, bars and used for frying. 

Similar as they are they also have their differences. Today we will dive into the rundown of what is the same and what the difference is when it comes to these two oils. 

The grades of olive oil that are commonly used in manufacturing are not the same names you may recognize from a retail shelf.  On a retail shelf, you typically see Extra Virgin Olive Oil as the most common type available -- as you should!  But if you are not familiar with the lower grades and new to purchasing bulk olive oil for food/body care production, it can be confusing. 

Here is a review of Olive Oil vs. Olive Pomace Oil -- two common grades used in food and body care manufacturing.  Plus one more!

People are always wanting to know about the different grades of olive oil: how they are made and what they are used for. Let's really dive in and talk about the specific grade of Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Sometimes it can seem so straight forward when you hear about organic EVOO this it's easy glance over. 

To really understand, we've outlined some basics below about Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil that you should know. 

Safflower is an oil that has gained a quite a bit of popularity in recent years.  It's now found in baked goods, cookies, bars, chips and other natural snacks.  That said, it's not quite as prevalent as it's cousin, sunflower oil, or the main-stay food industry, canola oil. But, many brands are starting to use this oil more and more. 

For those of you without much experience with safflower you may wonder if it's an oil that should be used in food production if it's ideal for cooking in your own kitchens. Is it good or bad?

What do you mean different types of sunflower oil?  I thought there was just one -- sunflower oil!

There are, in fact, a number of different types of sunflower oil.   The types (or grades) are differentiated based on what type of fat makes up the oil, as well as how the oil was produced.  

Sometimes it is hard to know exactly what kind of oil will work best for you and your product lines. If you're in the R&D stages of new product development, you will be faced with decisions about choosing the the right ingredients.  Let's pretend you have finally made the decision to use Sunflower Oil. You will next be immediately be presented with the next question: What kind of Sunflower Oil would you like?

Sunflower Oil is a type of seed oil that comes in a few different varieties. There are three main types: high oleic, mid oleic, and linoleic. 

What a confusing industry olive oil can be! There are so many grade names and terms know, to really understand what you are getting when you buy olive oil.

Our goal today is to help spell some of these nuances for you, so that you can get exactly what you are looking for. Today, we will concentrate specifically on Extra Virgin and Virgin Olive Oil.

These terms, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Virgin Olive Oil are so close to each other. They each describe a particular grade/quality of oil. I suppose it's logical that they are so close in name because the quality of oil is so similar as well. These grades are more like sisters than distant cousins. Let's dive in and discuss the similarities between these two oils first. 

Depending on what information you read, you may hear that sunflower is healthy from some and unhealthy from others.  So which is it? 

To help those grappling with all this conflicting information, we'd like to weigh in: the answer is not as straightforward as "good" or "bad".  Due to the ins and outs of the specific fat makeup of the oil (aka, what KIND of fats are found inside the oil molecules) and how oil is made, this discussion can be confusing and there's a lot of room for gray area and misinformation.

To make this discussion even less straight forward, the type of sunflower oil that was commonly used in the 80s and 90s is becoming less and less prevalent. So we are not always talking about the same thing when we say "sunflower oil."

Are you looking for an easy way to fill small bottles or pour oil from a 35 Lb. Container?  Most small businesses and at-home users find that ordering 35 Lb. Containers are the cheapest and easiest way to "go bulk" and it's a size that works well for them.  But, many people are still looking for a simpler system to dispense the oil into smaller, easier-to-handle packaging for kitchen use.

What type of packaging is best for your manufacturing facility?

Let's take a look at some of the two most popular bulk packaging options to discuss the pros and cons of each.

Drums and totes are the two most commonly used bulk packaging sizes.  Each has it's own advantages and disadvantages.  One may also be easier to use, depending on the set-up at your facility.  

Are you a food manufacturer serving the natural food industry and you are not already doing organics you have probably wondered the following:

What would it take to get organic certified? Is it worth it?

Our sales manager, Hannah, sat down with our quality control department and our warehouse manager to ask just a few questions. She wanted to find out precisely what it takes to get USDA Organic Certified. 

There are a few grades of olive oil that are commonly used in manufacturing, which you may not recognize from a retail shelf. While you will most often see Extra Virgin Olive Oil on a retail shelf, there are other (lower) grades of olive oil that are sometimes used in manufacturing.

If you are currently researching bulk olive oil for food/body care production or you are a manufacturer, it will help to know the differences between these different grades.  Today, we will walk through how these olive oil grades are each made, along with how they compare to each other.

In Hebrew, Kosher means fit or proper. When used with food products, kosher means that the item in question meets the dietary requirements of Jewish law. These are requirements set forward by the Jewish faith, and nutritional restrictions followed year-round. 

 Want to find out more about what it means to offer a Kosher food product?  Read on.

Centra Foods receives questions from countless food manufacturers each year, asking for the best ways to save money on olive oil. Many components can affect the total price of your olive oil, including grade types, packaging, freight, the distance of the FOB point, and experience of the supplier.

If you missed part one of this series, click here.  This week, we will be reviewing the next step to saving: choosing the best (and cheapest) packaging for your production facility.

Centra Foods receives questions from countless food manufacturers each year, asking for the best ways to save money on olive oil. Many components can affect the total price of your olive oil, including the type (or grade), packaging, freight costs, the distance from the FOB point, and experience of the supplier.

In this week's article, we will try to give you the best questions to internally review, to see how you can save money -- all while still working smoothly on the production floor and not discounting the final quality of your product.

Centra Foods supplies wholesalers and food service distributors with olive oil (and other non-gmo and organic oils) in bulk. As a result, we get a lot of business questions from companies in this industry.