What colour and odour should unrefined Grade A shea butter have?

Unrefined Grade A shea butter is ivory to pale yellow with a natural nutty or lightly smoky odour. Colour varies with kernel origin and season and is not itself a grade. A rancid or sour note is a quality failure, not a typical unrefined character.

Is EMI Agro's unrefined Grade A shea butter cold-pressed or hand-kneaded?

It is mechanically expeller-pressed after low-temperature conditioning, then filtered. No solvents are used. Cold-pressed here means no heat is added at the press — the kernels may still have been conditioned beforehand. It is not traditional hand-kneaded butter.

Does unrefined Grade A shea butter need refrigeration in transit?

No. Store it cool and protected from light. In tropical transit the butter may soften or partly melt and then re-solidify; a grainy texture after that cycle is a physical change, not by itself a quality failure. Check peroxide value if odour has changed.

Can unrefined Grade A shea butter be used in chocolate or food products?

It is not the usual specification. Food and cocoa butter equivalent applications specify refined N-RBD — neutral odour, very low free fatty acid, and the food-grade documentation set those buyers require. Use unrefined where the natural character is wanted in the finished product.

Products

Unrefined Grade A Shea Butter

Cold-pressed, wild-collected, filtered — nothing added, nothing removed.

Unrefined Grade A shea butter from EMI Agro is mechanically pressed from wild-collected Vitellaria paradoxa kernels, then filtered — not refined. It is ivory to pale yellow with a natural nutty odour. Grade A is the lowest free-fatty-acid and peroxide-value band for unrefined butter. It is produced in Ibadan to NIS 571:2013; every batch carries a Certificate of Analysis.

At a glance

Grade: Grade A, unrefined
Process: Mechanical expeller pressing and double filtration
Appearance: Ivory to pale yellow
Odour: Natural nutty shea odour
INCI: Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter
HS code: 1515.90
Standard: NIS 571:2013
Origin of kernels: Kwara, Niger, Kaduna, Kogi

Specification summary

Unrefined Grade A Shea Butter — EMI Agro typical values and test methods (NIS 571:2013 basis)
Parameter	Typical value	Test method	Detail
Free fatty acid (FFA)	Stated on batch COA	AOCS Ca 5a-40 / ISO 660	FFA explained
Peroxide value (PV)	Stated on batch COA	AOCS Cd 8-53	PV explained
Moisture and volatiles	Stated on batch COA	AOCS Ca 2b-38 / ISO 662	Moisture explained
Refractive index	Stated on batch COA	ISO 6320 / AOCS Cc 7-25	RI explained
Saponification value	Stated on batch COA	AOCS Cd 3-25	SAP explained
Unsaponifiable matter	Stated on batch COA	AOCS Ca 6a-40	Unsaps explained
Slip melting point	Stated on batch COA	AOCS Cc 3-25	Melting point explained
Colour	Stated on batch COA	AOCS Cc 13e-92	Colour explained
Iodine value	Stated on batch COA	AOCS Cd 1-25 / Other Wijs	IV explained

Batch values are reported on the Certificate of Analysis; typical values are QC reference ranges, not guarantees.

Applications

Unrefined Grade A shea butter is specified where its natural colour, odour and full unsaponifiable fraction are part of the finished product's value.

Unrefined Grade A for Cosmetics

Unrefined Grade A shea butter for cosmetics: INCI, 2–20 % inclusion, 4–11 % unsaponifiables and the FFA, PV and colour specs to request.

Unrefined Grade A for Soap Making

Unrefined Grade A shea butter for soap making: SAP value, NaOH factor about 0.

Unrefined Grade A for Lip Balm

Unrefined Grade A shea butter for lip balm: melting point, taste, peroxide value and graininess control, with the spec table to request.

Unrefined Grade A for Hair Care

Unrefined Grade A shea butter for hair care: melting point, spreadability, inclusion rates and the FFA, PV and odour specs to request.

Unrefined Grade A for Body Butter & Lotion

Unrefined Grade A shea butter for body butter and lotion: whipping behaviour, graininess control, emulsion loading and the specs to request.

For food, chocolate (CBE) or pharmaceutical excipient use, specify refined N-RBD shea butter.

Packaging and supply

Order terms

MOQ: Standard orders start at 20 tonnes. Trial lots start at 5 tonnes. Smaller volumes can still be requested — we review every enquiry against current production.
Lead time: Lead time is Ibadan production time plus ocean time to the named port. EMI Agro produces 40 tonnes per week of finished shea butter and can schedule rolling shipments. Exact weeks depend on the quantity on the purchase order.
Incoterms: EXW, FOB, CIF
Sample policy: Trial lots start at 5 tonnes of the named grade. Send the request even if you need less — we review whether we can supply.
Load ports: Apapa (Lagos), Tin Can Island (Lagos)

Documents provided

A Certificate of Analysis is issued per batch. Destination-specific certificates are confirmed on the order. See the sample Certificate of Analysis.

Quality and traceability

Intake lots are batch-coded to the cooperative delivery. Finished butter is tested in-house before release. The ten-step process and the quality page describe the laboratory and the certification status.

Refined N-RBD Shea Butter

Refined N-RBD (neutralised, bleached, deodorised) shea butter: white to off-white, odourless, very low in free fatty acid, specified for food, cocoa butter equivalent, pharmaceutical excipient and neutral cosmetic bases.

Shea Press Cake

The solid residue left after mechanical pressing of shea kernels at EMI Agro Industries, Ibadan: supplied in bulk as an input for animal feed, soap making and organic fertiliser or biomass.

Certificate of Analysis (sample)

How batch results are reported

All bulk shea butter products

Hub for grade selection

Frequently asked questions

Last reviewed September 2026 by EMI Agro Industries QC team.

Manufacturer-direct from Ibadan, Nigeria

Test the Grade A yourself.

Request a sample or the current batch Certificate of Analysis for unrefined Grade A shea butter.

You have just read Unrefined Grade A Shea Butter. The next step is a real lot from the factory that produces it — EMI Agro, with factory-direct pricing and a batch Certificate of Analysis.

Trusted manufacturer
EMI Agro Industries Limited (RC 9364495) presses the butter in Ibadan — we are not a trading company.
Competitive factory-direct prices
Quoted EXW, FOB or CIF — the buyer chooses. You pay the factory, not a chain of middlemen.
Export-ready supply
We ship to European Union, United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Southeast Asia, China, India, Middle East, Latin America. Load ports: Apapa (Lagos) or Tin Can Island (Lagos).
Documented lots
40 tonnes per week of finished shea butter, a Certificate of Analysis on every batch, NAFDAC registered and SON approved.

Request a sample Request a COA