In the processing of the shea nuts, rural women from the north of Ghana, roast their shea nuts using open fire sources (i.e., unenclosed boundary). This practice comes with critical safety issues such as burns on the skin and uncontrolled heating rate which can bring about charring of the nuts prior to oil extraction.
How is shea nut oil made?
The process of making Shea Nut Oil is similar to the production process of other fractionated carrier oils. The raw Shea Butter pressed from the Shea nut undergoes a process known as fractionation, which allows its liquid oil (the ‘olein’) to separate from the heavier components (the ‘stearin’).
What countries produce shea nut?
The main shea nut producing countries include Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo and Guinea. The total production capacity of these countries was estimated at 600,000 tons with an average of 350,000 tons exported in 2008
. Accordingly, Ghana is one of the chief producers of this crop worldwide.
What is shea fruit?
The shea fruit is made up of a pulp surrounding a nut which has a shell that houses the kernel that is dried and stored for processing into shea butter. The main shea nut producing countries include Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo and Guinea.