Shea Butter Test Methods: AOCS and ISO
Nine laboratory methods named on a serious shea butter COA — what each measures, why shea needs it, and where to read the specification.
Summary
- Methods profiled
- 9
- Standards bodies
- AOCS, ISO
- Spec hub
- Shea butter specifications
- EMI practice
- FFA, moisture, slip point and colour named in the Moniya QC laboratory
How to specify methods on a COA
Write the purchase order so a second laboratory can repeat the result. Require the method designation, the temperature where it matters (refractive index at 40 °C), the unit and the limit. A number without its method is not comparable: free fatty acid without Ca 5a-40 or ISO 660 cannot be checked against another laboratory.
In-house results are valid when the method is named and the laboratory can state instrument class and replicates. A third-party duplicate on a retain adds independence — useful on a first container, a dispute, or a regulated food or pharmaceutical use. How to read a shea butter COA covers reading order.
| Method | Parameter | Spec page | Tool | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AOCS Ca 5a-40 (ISO 660) | Free Fatty Acids | free-fatty-acid-ffa | ffa-titration-calculator | View |
| AOCS Cd 8-53 (ISO 3960) | Peroxide Value | peroxide-value-pv | coa-interpreter | View |
| AOCS Ca 2b-38 (ISO 662) | Moisture and Volatile Matter | moisture-content | shea-butter-grade-checker | View |
| ISO 6320 (AOCS Cc 7-25) | Determination of refractive index | refractive-index | coa-interpreter | View |
| AOCS Cd 3-25 (ISO 3657) | Saponification Value | saponification-value | shea-saponification-lye-calculator | View |
| AOCS Ca 6a-40 | Unsaponifiable Matter | unsaponifiable-matter | — | View |
| AOCS Cc 3-25 (ISO 6321) | Slip Melting Point | melting-point | — | View |
| AOCS Cd 1-25 (ISO 3961) | Iodine Value of Fats and Oils (Wijs) | iodine-value | — | View |
| AOCS Cc 13e-92 | Color of Fats and Oils (Lovibond) | colour-grading | shea-butter-grade-checker | View |
Official method text is copyright of AOCS or ISO. Profiles state a short principle only and point to the standards body.
AOCS Ca 5a-40 (Free Fatty Acids)
- Principle
- A weighed fat is dissolved in a neutralised solvent and titrated with alkali to a phenolphthalein end-point; the result is reported as per cent oleic acid.
- What it measures
- Free acids split from the triglyceride — a freshness / fermentation history.
- Shea relevance
- FFA in shea is a raw-material problem set by kernel handling before the press, not by filtration afterwards.
- Specification and tool
- Specification page · FFA calculator
- EMI practice
- Named method available in the Moniya QC laboratory (Ibadan).
The specification page for free fatty acid ffa explains typical values and what the number means. Name the method on the purchase order rather than accepting “tested in our lab”. A common ISO or AOCS counterpart is ISO 660; agree one reference per line rather than writing both as a blur.
Do not treat this paragraph as a laboratory procedure. Official methods are sold by AOCS and ISO. NIS 571:2013 points laboratories to AOCS or ISO methods rather than a separate Nigerian method number for each parameter.
Sources: [1]
AOCS Cd 8-53 (Peroxide Value)
- Principle
- Hydroperoxides in the fat liberate iodine from iodide; the iodine is titrated and the result is reported as milliequivalents of oxygen per kilogram.
- What it measures
- Primary oxidation products.
- Shea relevance
- PV is a storage parameter. It can later fall as oxidation advances, so a single low number is not a life-history by itself.
- Specification and tool
- Specification page · COA interpreter
The specification page for peroxide value pv explains typical values and what the number means. Name the method on the purchase order rather than accepting “tested in our lab”. A common ISO or AOCS counterpart is ISO 3960; agree one reference per line rather than writing both as a blur.
Do not treat this paragraph as a laboratory procedure. Official methods are sold by AOCS and ISO. NIS 571:2013 points laboratories to AOCS or ISO methods rather than a separate Nigerian method number for each parameter.
Sources: [1]
AOCS Ca 2b-38 (Moisture and Volatile Matter)
- Principle
- A stated mass of fat is heated under the conditions of the named method; the loss in mass is reported as moisture and volatile matter.
- What it measures
- Water and other volatiles that drive hydrolysis and mould risk.
- Shea relevance
- Shea is an anhydrous fat. Moisture above a tight band shortens shelf life and raises free fatty acid after packing.
- Specification and tool
- Specification page · Grade checker
- EMI practice
- Named method available in the Moniya QC laboratory (Ibadan).
The specification page for moisture content explains typical values and what the number means. Name the method on the purchase order rather than accepting “tested in our lab”. A common ISO or AOCS counterpart is ISO 662; agree one reference per line rather than writing both as a blur.
Do not treat this paragraph as a laboratory procedure. Official methods are sold by AOCS and ISO. NIS 571:2013 points laboratories to AOCS or ISO methods rather than a separate Nigerian method number for each parameter.
Sources: [1]
ISO 6320 (Determination of refractive index)
- Principle
- The refractive index of the melted fat is read on a refractometer at a stated temperature. For shea the usual reporting temperature is 40 °C.
- What it measures
- An identity reading of the triglyceride make-up.
- Shea relevance
- An off-range refractive index is an adulteration or wrong-fat signal, not a process fault.
- Specification and tool
- Specification page · COA interpreter
The specification page for refractive index explains typical values and what the number means. Name the method on the purchase order rather than accepting “tested in our lab”. A common ISO or AOCS counterpart is AOCS Cc 7-25; agree one reference per line rather than writing both as a blur.
Do not treat this paragraph as a laboratory procedure. Official methods are sold by AOCS and ISO. NIS 571:2013 points laboratories to AOCS or ISO methods rather than a separate Nigerian method number for each parameter.
AOCS Cd 3-25 (Saponification Value)
- Principle
- The fat is refluxed with alcoholic potassium hydroxide; unused alkali is back-titrated. The result is milligrams of KOH per gram of fat.
- What it measures
- Average fatty-acid chain length — an identity check.
- Shea relevance
- Paraffin and some foreign fats lower saponification value sharply; the number belongs on any serious identity screen.
- Specification and tool
- Specification page · Lye calculator
The specification page for saponification value explains typical values and what the number means. Name the method on the purchase order rather than accepting “tested in our lab”. A common ISO or AOCS counterpart is ISO 3657; agree one reference per line rather than writing both as a blur.
Do not treat this paragraph as a laboratory procedure. Official methods are sold by AOCS and ISO. NIS 571:2013 points laboratories to AOCS or ISO methods rather than a separate Nigerian method number for each parameter.
Sources: [1]
AOCS Ca 6a-40 (Unsaponifiable Matter)
- Principle
- The fat is saponified; the unsaponifiable fraction is extracted and weighed, and reported as a percentage of the sample.
- What it measures
- The non-glyceride fraction — triterpenes, tocopherols and sterols.
- Shea relevance
- Unrefined shea is characteristically high in unsaponifiables compared with most vegetable fats; dilution lowers the figure.
- Specification and tool
- Specification page
The specification page for unsaponifiable matter explains typical values and what the number means. Name the method on the purchase order rather than accepting “tested in our lab”.
Do not treat this paragraph as a laboratory procedure. Official methods are sold by AOCS and ISO. NIS 571:2013 points laboratories to AOCS or ISO methods rather than a separate Nigerian method number for each parameter.
Sources: [1]
AOCS Cc 3-25 (Slip Melting Point)
- Principle
- A tempered column of fat in an open capillary is warmed until the column slips. The temperature is the slip melting point.
- What it measures
- The temperature at which the fat column slips — texture, not purity.
- Shea relevance
- West African paradoxa shea typically slips in the low-to-mid thirties to mid-forties °C; nilotica lots are softer.
- Specification and tool
- Specification page
- EMI practice
- Named method available in the Moniya QC laboratory (Ibadan).
The specification page for melting point explains typical values and what the number means. Name the method on the purchase order rather than accepting “tested in our lab”. A common ISO or AOCS counterpart is ISO 6321; agree one reference per line rather than writing both as a blur.
Do not treat this paragraph as a laboratory procedure. Official methods are sold by AOCS and ISO. NIS 571:2013 points laboratories to AOCS or ISO methods rather than a separate Nigerian method number for each parameter.
Sources: [1]
AOCS Cd 1-25 (Iodine Value of Fats and Oils (Wijs))
- Principle
- Wijs reagent adds iodine monochloride across double bonds; unused halogen is titrated. The result is grams of iodine absorbed per 100 g of fat.
- What it measures
- Unsaturation — an identity and softness check.
- Shea relevance
- Shea sits in a published iodine-value band; a shift flags a foreign fat or an unusual oleic/stearic balance.
- Specification and tool
- Specification page
The specification page for iodine value explains typical values and what the number means. Name the method on the purchase order rather than accepting “tested in our lab”. A common ISO or AOCS counterpart is ISO 3961; agree one reference per line rather than writing both as a blur.
Do not treat this paragraph as a laboratory procedure. Official methods are sold by AOCS and ISO. NIS 571:2013 points laboratories to AOCS or ISO methods rather than a separate Nigerian method number for each parameter.
Sources: [1]
AOCS Cc 13e-92 (Color of Fats and Oils (Lovibond))
- Principle
- Melted fat is read in a Lovibond tintometer against standard glasses, or graded visually against an agreed reference set.
- What it measures
- Colour grade of the melted fat — appearance, not purity.
- Shea relevance
- Unrefined shea is typically ivory to yellow; refined N-RBD is white. Whiteness is not a purity proof.
- Specification and tool
- Specification page · Grade checker
- EMI practice
- Named method available in the Moniya QC laboratory (Ibadan).
The specification page for colour grading explains typical values and what the number means. Name the method on the purchase order rather than accepting “tested in our lab”.
Do not treat this paragraph as a laboratory procedure. Official methods are sold by AOCS and ISO. NIS 571:2013 points laboratories to AOCS or ISO methods rather than a separate Nigerian method number for each parameter.
Sources: [1]
In-house and third-party testing
EMI Agro runs named methods for free fatty acid, moisture, slip melting point and colour in its Moniya QC laboratory in Ibadan. Other identity parameters are reported as specified on the order. A finished-batch Certificate of Analysis states the method used beside the result.
Buyers writing a large purchase order should name both the method and whether they want a third-party duplicate on a retain. In-house is acceptable when the method is named; a third-party report adds independence. It does not replace a named method on the factory COA.
Explore more
Shea-producing regions
Profiles of Nigerian states and West African countries.
Certifications explained
NAFDAC, SON, organic schemes and memberships.
Shea butter specifications
Parameter meaning and published ranges.
Certificate of Analysis
A sample batch report with named methods.
How to read a shea butter COA
Reading order, red flags and a buyer checklist.
Complete guide to shea butter
Origin, grades, specifications and supply.
Frequently asked questions
References & standards
- AOCS Official Methods and Recommended Practices — methods index — American Oil Chemists' Society (accessed 2026-09-13)
- ISO 660 — Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of acid value and acidity — International Organization for Standardization (accessed 2026-09-13)
- ISO 3960 — Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of peroxide value — International Organization for Standardization (accessed 2026-09-13)
- ISO 662 — Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of moisture and volatile matter content — International Organization for Standardization (accessed 2026-09-13)
- ISO 6320 — Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of refractive index — International Organization for Standardization (accessed 2026-09-13)
- ISO 3657 — Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of saponification value — International Organization for Standardization (accessed 2026-09-13)
- ISO 6321 — Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of melting point in open capillary tubes (slip point) — International Organization for Standardization (accessed 2026-09-13)
- ISO 3961 — Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of iodine value — International Organization for Standardization (accessed 2026-09-13)
- NIS 571:2013 — Shea butter — Standards Organisation of Nigeria (accessed 2026-09-13)
- Honfo, F.G. et al. (2014). Nutritional composition of shea products and chemical properties of shea butter: a review — Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (accessed 2026-09-13)
Last reviewed September 2026 by EMI Agro Industries QC team.
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