Across the board, are ALL oils really that different when you compare the organic vs. the non-organic versions of them? Is organic extra virgin olive oil that different from regular extra virgin olive oil, or organic canola oil that different than regular canola oil?

The answer really depends on the type of oil and the fruit or seed used to produce it, and requires that we dive a little deeper.

Have you ever made a recipe that called for vegetable oil, and in the midst of pouring the oil into the measuring cup, you’ve thought, “Hmm… I wonder if I could use something healthier in place of this?” As an avid baker, I run into this question a lot. [Spoiler alert: I no longer even keep "vegetable oil" in my house, so you can see where this discussion is going…]

The Short Answer: Yes, You Can Swap Canola Oil in For Vegetable Oil

The short answer is, yes, you can replace vegetable oil with a number of different options, including canola oil.

How you store your bulk olive oil can’t just be an afterthought once it delivers. Getting olive oil and storing it in the wrong conditions is like buying ice cream from the store and taking 8 hours to get home and put it into the freezer.

You have to plan what you’re going to do with it before you buy -- in particular if you are a manufacturer, because there's more oil (and money) at stake. But manufacturer or home chef aside, the same still applies. 

Respect olive oil's proper storage conditions, and you will enjoy it -- in its freshest form -- for as long as possible.

Choosing the best packaging for your new product can have a huge role in how successful it is when it hits store shelves. This, of course, directly affects how your company is able to grow and compete in the long-run, and applies no matter whether you are in the natural food, pharmaceutical, or nutraceutical industries.

Even with its great importance, it can be tough for any manufacturer to choose the right packaging for your business needs — even with the plethora of options now available.

Cost may be your primary concern as you start your search process, but it’s vital that you weigh the other important factors.  You will need to chose packaging that has a strong visual appeal and fits well with your marketing and branding. Of course, it’s also important that your packaging protects your products during transport, storage and delivery throughout the supply chain.  That way, the final product your customer picks off the store shelf looks just like it did when it came off your production line.

Olive Pomace Oil and Extra Light Olive Oil are two different types of olive oil with a lot of similarities and cross-over.  But how are they different? Today, we’ll tell you exactly how they are both similar and different from each other, along with what they are best used for.

Before we begin comparisons, let’s go through a quick rundown of the olive oil grades and how they are made.

We recently received this question on our blog: Is cooking oil the same as RBD?

First, let me explain what this question means, for anyone unfamiliar with the acronym “RBD".  RBD stands for “Refined, Bleached and Deodorized” and it is the process of refining an oil.  The RBD process involves a number of steps, which we will go through in more detail below. 

To summarize, this person asked — is a cooking oil the same thing as a refined oil (or an RBD oil)?  The answer is a little bit gray: usually yes, but it also depends on your definition of cooking oil.  I will explain more below.

Olive oil blends are a common oil option in both the food manufacturing and food service industries.

Blends can have a lot of advantages.  In the manufacturing world, they are a great option for a mild-tasting oil: they still allow you to use olive oil and have it on your label, but without the strong flavor.  They also help you meet lower raw-ingredient costs.  On the foodservice side, olive oil blends typically have higher smoke points (from the added canola oil) and help keep your kitchen costs down.

If you run your own small food company, you are in a unique situation as you begin to grow and expand. When you are a small company, buying your ingredients from a local supplier like Costco or even a grocery store can suffice. As you grow and begin to expand your product lines, you will need look for alternative, larger suppliers that are set up to fit your business needs.

As I’ve worked with small businesses over the last 10 years, I’ve seen the same challenges over and over again in their transition process. The challenge comes in the initial growth phase, when small businesses are starting to look for larger ingredient suppliers, but are not quite yet ready to buy the larger volumes that a bulk supplier requires.

For example, as a start-up you may be buying from your local wholesale store a few gallons at a time. As your production increases you will need more and more — now you are using 40 gallons a week, and you start to look for a cheaper option that doesn’t have you running to the store all the time.

As you dig into this sourcing process, you are going to find a few different challenges that you’ll need to navigate. Today, we’ll be reviewing all of the things that you — a small business owner — need to be thinking about as you are comparing ingredient suppliers.

If you are producing a new food product and marketing it as a healthier option that meets the keto diet guidelines, there are specific oil ingredients that you will need to choose to stay with in the bounds of the keto definition.

Here are each of your options (and what we recommend).

Oil suppliers can look very different, each with their own unique strengths and business models. They can be very large or very small, set in their ways or very flexible. They may only supply oils — or even just one type of oil — or they may supply lots of different products.

Each type of supplier will serve your company’s needs differently and bring their own pros and cons to the table. To do a truly helpful comparison, it’s important to first understand the different types of suppliers and how their different business models work.

Worried about allergens when you’re choosing an oil ingredient for your natural food product? You’re not alone. This is something that multiple departments within your company will have to weigh in on: Purchasing, R&D, QA and Marketing. They will all play a part in this discussion when you’re producing a food product.

Canola Oil is commonly used in food manufacturing. But did you know that there are a few different kinds of canola oil available? If you’re overseeing the procurement for your next manufactured food product, you’ll need to compare each type of canola oil to decide which is going to be the right fit.

Today we will compare the two common options -- expeller pressed canola oil vs. regular (often called ‘conventional’) canola oil. We’ll look at how they’re made, along with what makes expeller pressed canola oil different, especially for healthy companies like yours.

There’s so much misinformation about canola oil out there. Part of the problem is that the issues people find with it are only sometimes true. To understand the full story, you have to know when the claims about canola oil are actually true and when they are false.

Today, I’ll be tackling some myths and truths about organic canola oil in particular, and how they relate to their conventional (GMO) vs. organic counterparts.