Vegetable Oil

Vegetable oil is a fat extracted from plants. It is typically made by pressing plant seeds, fruits, or nuts, or by using solvents to extract the oil. Common sources include soybeans, corn, sunflower, canola, and palm.

Manufacturers add vegetable oil to foods for cooking, baking, and frying. It helps create desirable textures, flavors, and mouthfeel in many processed foods. It is commonly found in baked goods, snack foods, and salad dressings.

Most vegetable oils are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA when used as food ingredients. They are a source of dietary fats, including saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats, which are essential for health but should be consumed in moderation. The FDA revoked the GRAS status for partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), a type of vegetable oil that was a major source of artificial trans fat, in 2018. JECFA and EFSA have not set specific ADIs for general vegetable oils, as they are considered food ingredients rather than additives requiring such limits. The health effects of different types of vegetable oils are a subject of ongoing scientific research, with some oils being favored for their unsaturated fat content.