How to Store Shea Butter to Prevent Rancidity

Keep shea butter at a steady cool temperature. Repeated melt–solidify cycles — above the slip-melting range described on the melting-point specification — drive graininess and accelerate oxidation. Refrigeration is unnecessary for sealed bulk stock and can cause condensation when containers are brought out. Freezing is not needed.

Check: a min/max thermometer or logger in the storage area; record weekly.

Ultraviolet and visible light initiate oxidation, especially in translucent pails and open cartons. Opaque plastic protects better than clear glass in published storage trials. Store in opaque drums or lined cartons, away from windows and skylights.

Check: no product in direct daylight; translucent containers boxed or shelved dark.

Oxidation needs oxygen. Keep containers sealed and as full as practical. Re-seal partially used containers and consider decanting into smaller full containers. Inert-gas flushing or oxygen absorbers help where they are available; they are not required for ordinary sealed drums that stay full.

Check: lids and bungs tight; liners folded closed over the surface.

A container leaving Lagos warm and opening in a cool destination — or the reverse — can sweat. Water on the butter surface feeds hydrolysis and mould. Let sealed drums reach room temperature before opening. Use desiccant sachets in cartons. Keep drums off concrete floors on pallets. See moisture content and container sweat after Lagos loading.

Check: drums wiped and inspected for condensation at receipt; note on the delivery record.

Use food-grade contact materials. Avoid uncoated reactive metals — copper and iron are pro-oxidant catalysts. Cartons with a food-grade polyethylene liner give good light protection and a fixed headspace, and they pallet well. HDPE or steel drums with a liner are opaque and resealable, which suits long storage and container shipping. Intermediate bulk containers suit processors who melt and pump; they leave a large headspace when part-used, and translucent HDPE needs a cover. Small pails are for samples and trial orders — keep them boxed if they are translucent.

Formats EMI actually ships are listed on the unrefined Grade A and refined N-RBD product pages when confirmed.

Check: every container labelled with batch and production date.

Rotate by production date, not receipt date. A late-arriving older batch should still be picked first. Keep a stock register per batch and segregate grades so a refined lot cannot be issued as unrefined, or the reverse.

Check: oldest batch nearest the door, picked first.

A sealed retained sample per batch, stored as the bulk is, gives a reference for disputes and trend tests. The buyer should take the same sample at receipt. Label the jar with batch and date and leave the seal intact until a test is needed.

Check: sample jar labelled with batch, date, seal intact.

Test at intake, then at intervals you set in the warehouse programme. A peroxide-value trend up is an oxygen or light problem; an FFA trend up is a moisture problem. Act before your specification limits are reached. Read the peroxide value and FFA lines on the incoming COA, then track them with the COA interpreter and the FFA titration calculator. See also peroxide value and free fatty acid.

Check: results logged against the batch; trend chart or table.