INFORM May 2026

AOCS METHODS INFORM 15

Hexane remains the dominant solvent for vegetable oil extraction. Approximately 90 percent of global oilseed processors rely on hexane based technology developed in the past century. New regulatory assessments require reliable, harmonized analytical methods to quantitatively determine that hexane residues are below established limits. To provide this necessary safety assurance analytical specialists are working on improved detection capabilities, cross-laboratory validation, and industry collaboration. Over the last century, as global demand for vegetable oils grew, oilseed processors began searching for ways to improve recovery. Today, solvent extraction allows processors to recover nearly 99 percent of the oil originally present in the seed.