Bleaching of edible oils is known to alter the composition of oils as it removes impurities and certain food nutrients. The characteristics of bleached oil are strongly related to type bleaching medium, temperature at which bleaching is done and other factors. In this study, we compare peroxide, free fatty acid, acid and iodine values, copper and iron content of bleached and crude oils to establish the characteristics of edible oils bleached using smectite and kaolinite-rich clays. Oil industries spend large sums of money purchasing bleaching earths yet no country lacks natural clays which can be developed to bleach oils. In Uganda alone more than US$ 700,000 is spent every month yet many clay deposits are unexploited. In this study, we have documented trace metal composition, peroxide values, acid values, iodine values and free fatty acid content of bleached and unbleached cotton-seed and sunflower seed oils. The bleached oils were found to be fit for human use. Clays are either kaolinites or smectites, but the clays used to bleach edible oils are montmorillonites or bentonites. The decrease in content of iron in the bleached oils was highest for all oils bleached. The content of copper showed the smallest change. The content of copper in cotton oils decreased from 0.5 ppm to 0.15 ppm using Kajansi clay leached in 20% acid yet when Chelel clay leached under similar conditions was used decrease was from 0.5 to 0.1 ppm. The content of iron in sunflower oils bleached using Kajansi clay leached in 20% acid decreased from 1.6 to 0.2 ppm yet that bleached with Chelel clay under similar conditions decreased to 0.1 ppm. The acid values showed that the acidity in sunflower oils is largely due to oleic acid as the average value for acids is in the range close to oleic acid, cotton-seed oil corresponded to linoleic acid. The levels of free fatty acid were found to lie in range from 3.8 - 3.2 for all clays used showing no significant rise. The peroxide values of bleached oils lay between 1.2 and 0.8.
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