FGH is working to establish an avocado oil processing plant. Avocado oil is the product of the Persea Americana fruit, with its lush skin-improving oleic acid and highly nutritious fatty pulp. The farmers of the fruit grow various cultivars including Guatemalan, Hass, Fuerte and local. Though most of the Hass fruits will be exported in table form, the oil extraction industry is also blooming as a supply chain management.

Every avocado has 30 percent concentration of oil worth of its dry matter. The seed has negligible oil deposits of less than 2 percent. The skin, on the other hand, has at most 7 percent of the oil. There is also oleic acid, an extra-nutrient that controls of heart ailments. The fruit also helps to treat arthritis and gum conditions. Its high vitamin B-6 margin is beneficial in the body’s metabolism processes.

FGH will process avocados through any of two methods: solvent extraction or cold pressing systems. With solvent extraction, we first pre-dry the fruits. The essence is to remove as much as 65 percent of the water content from the pulp. We then peel the fruit with sterilized knives. The pitting of the stone with forceps without hampering the pulp follows suit. We then pound the pulp into a thick mash before air-drying it with a little hexane solvent additive.

The hexane solvent helps to clarify the crude avocado oil. After filtration occurs, the now solvent-and impurity-free brown liquid flows out into a beaker. The oil goes through a de-acidification phase where we remove the remaining fatty acids. We usually expect a 95% total oil yield through the hexane solvent processing.

Alternatively, we use a cold press to process extra-virgin avocado oil. We start with the pre-drying phase which is followed by the pounding of the pulp into a mash. Malaxing comes after this where we heat the paste for 60 minutes at 45 degrees Celsius. This temperature may seem too high for a cold press, but it is neutralized by the high smoking point of the avocado oil.

The malaxed paste of avocado oil then seeps through a hydraulic system which again heats it to separate oil from water. The lighter oil settles on the top of the distiller and is then ready for packing. The water goes into recycling for other uses.

We will pack avocado oil in PET bottles or plastic bottles with brown-tinged transparent surfaces that ward off light. We provide 500 ml basic net measures. Our larger drums provide 5 to 20 liters net weight packages. We attach clear labels to each of our consignments including the 100 percent natural ingredients, the processing method (hexane solvent or hydraulic cold press) and the expiry date.

We store the processed avocado oil at the temperature of below 5 degrees Celsius whereby it is not exposed to direct sunlight but rather dry, cool conditions. Our cargo will be transported via vehicles fitted with refrigeration equipment.