Oils and fats are products in their own right and key ingredients across the food industry. Their quality depends on the raw material, on refining and on storage conditions, and oxidation starts as soon as they are produced. ICA R&D tests vegetable oils (sunflower, rapeseed, soybean, maize, olive), animal fats (lard, tallow), margarines and spreads, as well as fat extracted from other products.
What we test
Freshness and oxidation are followed through acidity, peroxide value, anisidine value and the Kreis test. The fatty acid profile, obtained by gas chromatography, shows the proportions of saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and trans fatty acids and the erucic acid content, and helps verify the declared botanical origin of an oil. We complete the characterisation with iodine, saponification and refractive indices, moisture, impurities, cholesterol and tocopherols.
For margarines and spreads we determine total fat, preservatives and sodium chloride. Contaminant testing covers metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins and PCBs, and mycotoxins.
Regulatory framework
- Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 – general principles of food law
- Regulation (EU) 2023/915 – maximum levels for contaminants (including erucic acid and PAH)
- Regulation (EU) 2019/649 – maximum content of trans fat other than trans fat naturally occurring in fat of animal origin
- Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 – food additives
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 – food information to consumers
How we work
Oil samples should be sent in closed containers filled as completely as possible and protected from light and heat, so that oxidation indices do not change in transit. We can recommend the right tests for raw material intake, in-process control or finished product release. Results are issued in a test report; accredited tests are marked as such in the report and are listed in the annex to RENAR accreditation certificate LI 871.
On request, we can give an opinion on whether the fatty acid profile is consistent with the declared origin; the opinion is not covered by the accreditation.
Parameters and determinations
Sensory examination
- Appearance (external and cross-section) authorised, not accredited
- Colour authorised, not accredited
- Texture authorised, not accredited
- Odour authorised, not accredited
- Taste authorised, not accredited
Quality and oxidation indices
- Free fatty acids / acid value authorised, not accredited
- Peroxide value RENAR accredited
- Anisidine value subcontracted
- Iodine value authorised, not accredited
- Saponification value authorised, not accredited
- Refractive index authorised, not accredited
- Kreis test authorised, not accredited
- Density RENAR accredited
- Lovibond colour subcontracted
Composition
- Fatty acid profile (C4–C24), including trans fatty acids RENAR accredited
- Erucic acid authorised, not accredited
- Moisture and volatile matter authorised, not accredited
- Insoluble impurities authorised, not accredited
- Total fat (margarines, spreads) RENAR accredited
- Milk fat and non-milk fat subcontracted
- Cholesterol RENAR accredited
- Tocopherols authorised, not accredited
Additives
- Sorbic and benzoic acid RENAR accredited
- Sodium chloride authorised, not accredited
Contaminants
- Metals (Pb, Cd, Hg, As, Ni, Cu, Fe and others) authorised, not accredited
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) subcontracted
- Dioxins and PCBs subcontracted
- Mycotoxins authorised, not accredited
Microbiology
- Yeasts and moulds RENAR accredited
- Coliforms RENAR accredited
- Escherichia coli RENAR accredited
- Listeria monocytogenes RENAR accredited
- Salmonella RENAR accredited
Authenticity
- Fatty acid profile to verify origin subcontracted
- Species identification (animal fats, DNA) subcontracted
"RENAR accredited" links to the matching row of the accredited-tests table below (RENAR annex no. 1/24.04.2026); "authorised, not accredited" means authorised by ANSVSA (authorisation no. 95/24.09.2025) but outside the accreditation; "subcontracted" means performed by a partner laboratory. An analysis with two labels is accredited only for the matrices and methods in the table. "Not accredited" (non-food products, which need no authorisation) means performed in the ICA laboratory or by a partner laboratory, outside the accreditation.
This list is not exhaustive and not all determinations are accredited. For anything not listed here, please contact our sales team.