Explain edible oil and its sources
Answers
Edible oils are most often plant-based oils, which are similar, if not the same as those produced by the industrial biotech industry for use as biofuels such as biodiesel, for use in cosmetics, and in other everyday biotech products. Edible oils may be solid or liquid at room temperature.
Edible oils are defined by the Government of Ontario, Canada as "a food substance, other than a dairy product, of whatever origin, source or composition that is manufactured for human consumption wholly or in part from a fat or oil other than that of milk." The US FDA does not provide a definition for edible oils on their website.
Plant-derived edible oils consist of carboxylic acids with long hydrocarbon chains, in contrast to petroleum-based oils which lack the carboxyl group on the end.