What is the iodine value of shea butter?

Published iodine values for shea butter cluster around 52–66 g I₂/100 g. The range is the same for all grades because iodine value is an identity value. EMI Agro states the measured batch value on the Certificate of Analysis.

What does the iodine value tell you about shea butter?

How unsaturated its fatty acids are. Higher iodine value means more oleic and linoleic acid — a softer, lower-melting, more oxidation-prone butter. Lower iodine value means more stearic acid — firmer and more stable. Read it with melting point for texture, peroxide value for shelf life, and saponification value and refractive index for identity.

Why do East African shea butters have a higher iodine value?

Vitellaria paradoxa subsp. nilotica (Uganda, South Sudan and neighbouring areas) has a higher oleic and lower stearic share than West African V. paradoxa, so more double bonds, a higher iodine value and a softer, more spreadable butter. EMI Agro’s kernels are sourced in Nigeria (Kwara, Niger, Kaduna and Kogi).

How is iodine value measured in shea butter (Wijs method)?

A weighed sample reacts in the dark with excess Wijs reagent (iodine monochloride); the unreacted halogen is titrated with sodium thiosulphate. Iodine value (g I₂/100 g) = (B − S) × N × 12.69 / W (AOCS Cd 1-25 / ISO 3961). Some laboratories report a calculated iodine value from the GC fatty-acid profile instead (AOCS Cd 1c-85) — the Certificate of Analysis should say which.

Can iodine value detect adulteration in shea butter?

As a cross-check, yes: lauric or palm fats pull iodine value down; liquid vegetable oils push it up. On its own it is not proof because ranges overlap. A coherent shift in iodine value, refractive index and saponification value together is strong evidence.

Does a higher iodine value make shea butter go rancid faster?

All else equal, yes — double bonds are where autoxidation begins, so a higher-IV lot needs the same light, heat and oxygen protection more urgently. Within shea’s natural range the effect is modest; storage conditions matter more than a few iodine-value units.

Specifications

Iodine Value of Shea Butter

The unsaturation number: what shea's IV should be, how the Wijs method measures it, and how it predicts softness, oxidation risk and purity.

Iodine value (IV), also called iodine number, is the grams of iodine absorbed by 100 g of fat — a measure of carbon–carbon double bonds (unsaturation). Shea butter typically sits around 52–66 g I₂/100 g, low compared with liquid oils because shea is roughly half saturated stearic acid. Higher IV means softer butter and greater oxidation susceptibility; with saponification value and refractive index it corroborates identity.

IV at a glance

Unit: g I₂/100 g (also called iodine number)
Test methods: AOCS Cd 1-25 (Wijs) · Cd 1d-92 · ISO 3961 · Cd 1c-85 (calculated)
Literature range: 52–66 g I₂/100 g
Same for unrefined and refined: Essentially yes — refining does not hydrogenate
Higher IV means: More oleic/linoleic — softer, more oxidation-prone
Lower IV means: More stearic — firmer; far below range suggests lauric dilution
Control lever: Identity (origin) — set by the kernel

What iodine value measures

Halogens add across C=C double bonds; the amount of iodine (as ICl in Wijs reagent) that a fat absorbs is proportional to its double-bond count. Shea's acids: stearic 35–45 % (none), oleic 40–55 % (one), linoleic 3–8 % (two) — hence IV in the 50s–60s. A liquid oil such as sunflower is above 110.

Iodine value counts the double bonds in shea butter's fatty acids; because roughly half of them are saturated stearic acid, shea's IV sits in the 50s–60s — far below liquid oils, which is why it is a solid, relatively stable butter. Pressing and refining do not change it; only hydrogenation would, and shea is not hydrogenated.

Reference values by grade

Iodine value (g I₂/100 g) by shea butter grade — EMI Agro does not publish a standing acceptance range; the batch COA states the measured value
Grade	Valueg I₂/100 g	What it usually indicates	EMI supply status
Grade A	—	Iodine value measures unsaturation; it is an identity and softness check and moves with the oleic/stearic balance.	Confirm on the batch COA
Grade B	—	Iodine value measures unsaturation; it is an identity and softness check and moves with the oleic/stearic balance.	Confirm on the batch COA
Grade C	—	Iodine value measures unsaturation; it is an identity and softness check and moves with the oleic/stearic balance.	Confirm on the batch COA
Refined N-RBD	—	Iodine value measures unsaturation; it is an identity and softness check and moves with the oleic/stearic balance.	Confirm on the batch COA

Identity values are grade-independent. Published ranges vary; read direction of shift with saponification value and refractive index.

Iodine value is identity, not quality, so the same literature range applies across grades. Refined N-RBD shares the range because refining does not hydrogenate.

Identity reference points — iodine value of shea butter and fats used as adulterants or blends (published values, not EMI limits)
Fat	Iodine valueg I₂/100 g	Shift if blended into shea
Shea butter	52–66	—
East African nilotica shea	Higher (more oleic)	Up
Cocoa butter	32–40	Down
Palm oil	50–55	Slightly down
Palm kernel oil	14–21	Down
Coconut oil	6–11	Down
Soybean / sunflower oil	120–140	Up

Read direction of shift with saponification value and refractive index. See shea versus cocoa butter and shea versus coconut oil.

How iodine value is measured (Wijs method, AOCS Cd 1-25 / ISO 3961)

Weigh a sample sized to the expected IV; dissolve; add a measured excess of Wijs reagent (iodine monochloride in glacial acetic acid); react in the dark; add potassium iodide and water; titrate the unreacted iodine with sodium thiosulphate; run a blank.

IV (g I₂/100 g) = (B − S) × N × 12.69 / W

12.69 is the molar mass of iodine (126.9) ÷ 10. Calculated IV (AOCS Cd 1c-85) comes from the GC fatty-acid profile; a COA should say “measured (Wijs)” or “calculated”. See AOCS Cd 1-25 and the COA interpreter.

Why iodine value matters to buyers

For a buyer, iodine value is a softness-and-stability predictor and a purity cross-check — read it with melting point for texture, with peroxide value for shelf life, and with SAP and RI for identity.

Higher IV (more oleic) means a softer, lower slip melting point; East African nilotica is the standard example. See melting point. Double bonds are where oxidation starts — see peroxide value and how to store shea butter.

A lauric or palm-fat blend pulls IV down; a liquid-oil blend pushes it up. A coherent three-test shift with saponification value and refractive index is strong evidence — see signs of adulterated shea butter.

IV is set by the kernel, not the press

Pressing, filtering, neutralising, bleaching and deodorising leave the fatty-acid double bonds untouched; iodine value therefore survives refining unchanged (to within method precision). An out-of-range IV means a different composition — different origin/species, or a blend — and cannot be corrected by processing. See refractive index: identity cannot be refined away and shea butter grades. EMI Agro's kernels are sourced in Kwara, Niger, Kaduna, Kogi.

How EMI Agro uses iodine value

EMI Agro states the measured iodine value on the Certificate of Analysis. Read it with refractive index and saponification value. See Certifications & Quality and the sample Certificate of Analysis.

Melting point falls as IV rises. Refractive index rises with IV. Saponification value is the identity companion. Peroxide value records the oxidation that unsaturation makes possible. Unsaponifiable matter does not affect IV — the glyceride part is measured.

Shea Butter Specifications

FFA, peroxide value, moisture, refractive index, saponification value and more.

Complete Guide to Shea Butter

Master reference — grades, production, specifications, uses, sourcing, importing.

Shea Butter Grades

Grade A, B and C unrefined shea butter and refined N-RBD explained.

Melting Point

Slip melting point and how it governs shea butter skin feel.

Refractive Index

Refractive index at 40 °C as an identity check for shea butter.

Saponification Value

Saponification value as a chain-length and identity parameter.

Peroxide Value (PV)

Peroxide value as the first oxidation marker in shea butter storage.

Unsaponifiable Matter

The unsaponifiable fraction that distinguishes shea from cheaper hard fats.

COA Interpreter

Check whether an iodine value sits in the shea band.

Shea Butter vs Cocoa Butter

Iodine-value contrast for CBE work.

Shea Butter vs Coconut Oil

Lauric fats pull iodine value down.

Certificate of Analysis (sample)

How a batch is reported.

Frequently asked questions

References & standards

AOCS Official Method Cd 1-25 — Iodine Value of Fats and Oils, Wijs Method — American Oil Chemists' Society
ISO 3961 — Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of iodine value — International Organization for Standardization
Codex Alimentarius CXS 210-1999 — Standard for named vegetable oils — FAO / WHO
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
Maranz, S. et al. (2004). Effect of climate and agroecological zone on shea butter fat composition — Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society

Last reviewed September 2026 by EMI Agro Industries QC team.

Manufacturer-direct from Ibadan, Nigeria

Identity and stability in one certificate — request the COA.

Every EMI Agro COA states iodine value, saponification value and refractive index for the batch. Tell us your grade and application; we'll send a current certificate.

You have just read Iodine Value of 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 quote Request a COA