One company selling "virgin" coconut oil produced using the traditional fermentation method makes a similar error of omission in describing the production of their oil: "The milk is then fermented for 24-36 hours, and the oil is then separated and filtered from the curds. No chemical or high-heat (emphasis ours) treatment is used......" They say no "high-heat" but they don't say that in fact the oil is heated in order to remove moisture which is a necessary step in order to insure that the oil does not become rancid.

According to the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) nutrient data base, fresh coconut contains approximately 47% water. If you grate fresh coconut and press it you obtain coconut milk which is a combination of coconut oil and water. To prevent rancidity the moisture content of coconut oil must be 0.1% or less. In order to end up with just coconut oil the water must, one way or another, be removed. The DME (Direct Micro Expeller) method removes some of the water from the coconut before pressing it by drying the coconut. The pressed oil is then normally heated to remove the remaining moisture. The traditional method uses fermentation to cause the oil and water to separate and the oil is then heated to remove remaining moisture.

The centrifuge process takes advantage of the physical differences between coconut oil and water (the coconut oil being lighter) to separate the oil from fresh coconut milk. (The same principle is applied when a centrifuge is used to separate plasma from whole blood.) This process is so efficient and results in a moisture content so low that no additional processing is required.

It is interesting to note that in 2001  when we first described the centrifuge process used to produce Coconut Oil Supreme™, other companies were unaware that such a process even existed. After many posts appeared in internet forums which described Coconut Oil Supreme™ (the centrifuged oil) as having superior taste and quality, many companies are now claiming that their oil is produced using the same process. This is, in fact, not the case since the only facility which has both the equipment and know how to produce coconut oil with this process is the same facility which produces Coconut Oil Supreme™. I have even received email from small, family-type coconut oil producers offering to supply centrifuged coconut oil. I am sure that they have no idea of what is involved or that the equipment required costs millions of dollars. They only know that if that is supposed to be the best then that is what they are selling.

After years of receiving bad press, I am happy to see that the good word about coconut oil is spreading. I find it distressing, however, to see that some people are also spreading misinformation and hype for the sake of making a sale.