Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed_oil_obtained_as_an_experiment

Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known

vegetable oils Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fat ...

. There are both

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

and industrial forms produced from

rapeseed Rapeseed (''Brassica napus ''subsp.'' napus''), also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains a ...

, the seed of several

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s of the plant family

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The le ...

. Historically, it was eaten in limited quantities due to high levels of

erucic acid Erucic acid is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid, denoted 22:1ω9. It has the chemical formula CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)11COOH. It is prevalent in wallflower seed and other plants in the family Brassicaceae, with a reported content of 20 to 54% in h ...

, which is damaging to the

cardiac muscle Cardiac muscle (also called heart muscle, myocardium, cardiomyocytes and cardiac myocytes) is one of three types of vertebrate muscle tissues, with the other two being skeletal muscle and smooth muscle. It is an involuntary, striated muscle th ...

of animals and imparts a bitter taste, and

glucosinolates Glucosinolates are natural components of many pungency, pungent plants such as mustard plant, mustard, cabbage, and horseradish. The pungency of those plants is due to mustard oils produced from glucosinolates when the plant material is chewed, cut ...

, which made it less nutritious in animal feed. Rapeseed oil can contain up to 54% erucic acid. Canola oil is a food-grade version derived from rapeseed cultivars bred for low erucic acid content. Also known as low erucic acid rapeseed (LEAR) oil, it has been generally recognized as safe by the

United States Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...

. Canola oil is limited by government regulation to a maximum of 2% erucic acid by weight in the US and the EU, with special regulations for infant food. These low levels of erucic acid do not cause harm in humans. In commerce, non-food varieties are typically called colza oil. Rapeseed is extensively cultivated in Canada, France, Belgium, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Poland. In France and Denmark, especially, the extraction of the oil is an important industry.

History

The name for rapeseed comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning turnip.

Turnip The turnip or white turnip (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ' ...

rutabaga Rutabaga (; North American English) or swede (British English and some Commonwealth English) is a root vegetable, a form of ''Brassica napus'' (which also includes rapeseed). Other names include Swedish turnip, neep (Scots), and turnip (Scott ...

(swede),

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

Brussels sprouts The Brussels sprout is a member of the Gemmifera cultivar group of cabbages (''Brassica oleracea''), grown for its edible buds. The leaf vegetables are typically 1.5–4.0 cm (0.6–1.6 in) in diameter and resemble miniature cabbages ...

, and

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

are related to rapeseed. Rapeseed belongs to the genus ''

Brassica ''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole cr ...

''. ''Brassica'' oilseed varieties are some of the oldest plants cultivated by humanity, with documentation of its use in India 4,000 years ago, and use in China and Japan 2,000 years ago.Snowdon R et al. "Oilseed Rape". Chapter 2 i
Genome Mapping and Molecular Breeding in Plants: OIlseeds
Ed, Chittaranjan Kole. Springer, 2007 Its use in Northern Europe for

oil lamp An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, although their use is less common in modern times. Th ...

s is documented to the 13th century. Rapeseed oil extracts were first put on the market in 1956–1957 as food products, but these suffered from several unacceptable characteristics. Rapeseed oil had a distinctive taste and a greenish colour, due to the presence of

chlorophyll Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to a ...

. It also contained a high concentration of erucic acid. Canola was bred from rapeseed cultivars of ''B. napus'' and ''B. rapa'' at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Keith Downey and

Baldur R. Stefansson Baldur Rosmund Stefansson, (April 26, 1917 – January 3, 2002) was a Canadians, Canadian agricultural scientist and as one of the originators of canola, became known as the "Father of Canola". Born in Vestfold, Manitoba, a son of Icelandic ...

in the early 1970s, having then a different nutritional profile than present-day oil in addition to much less

. Canola was originally a trademark name of the Rapeseed Association of Canada, and the name was a condensation of "Can" from Canada and "OLA " meaning "Oil, low acid", but is now a generic term for edible varieties of rapeseed oil in North America and Australasia. The change in name serves to distinguish it from natural rapeseed oil, which has much higher erucic acid content. A

genetically engineered Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

rapeseed that is tolerant to the

herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...

Roundup A roundup is a systematic gathering together of people or things. Roundup, Round Up or Round-up may also refer to: Agriculture * A muster (livestock) (AU/NZ) or a roundup (US/CA) is the process of gathering livestock. * Roundup (herbicide), a M ...

(glyphosate) was first introduced to Canada in 1995 (

Roundup Ready Roundup Ready is the Monsanto trademark for its patented line of genetically modified crop seeds that are resistant to its glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup. History In 1996, genetically modified ''Roundup Ready'' soybeans resistant to Roundup ...

). A genetically modified variety developed in 1998 is considered to be the most disease- and drought-resistant canola variety to date. In 2009, 90% of the Canadian crop was herbicide-tolerant.Beckie, Hugh et al (Autumn 2011
GM Canola: The Canadian Experience
Farm Policy Journal, Volume 8 Number 8, Autumn Quarter 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2012 In 2005, 87% of the canola grown in the US was genetically modified.Johnson, Stanley R. et a
Quantification of the Impacts on US Agriculture of Biotechnology-Derived Crops Planted in 2006
National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, Washington DC, February 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2010. In 2011, out of the 31 million hectares of canola grown worldwide, 8.2 million (26%) were genetically modified. A 2010 study conducted in North Dakota found glyphosate- or

glufosinate Glufosinate (also known as phosphinothricin and often sold as an ammonium salt) is a naturally occurring broad-spectrum herbicide produced by several species of ''Streptomyces'' soil bacteria. Glufosinate is a non-selective, contact herbicide, w ...

-resistance

transgene A transgene is a gene that has been transferred naturally, or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques, from one organism to another. The introduction of a transgene, in a process known as transgenesis, has the potential to change the ...

s in 80% of wild natural rapeseed plants, and a few plants that were resistant to both herbicides. This may reduce the effectiveness of the herbicide tolerance trait for weed control over time, as the weed species could also become tolerant to the herbicide. However, one of the researchers agrees that "feral populations could have become established after trucks carrying cultivated GM seeds spilled some of their load during transportation". She also notes that the GM canola results they found may have been biased as they only sampled along roadsides. Genetically modified canola attracts a price penalty compared to non-GM canola; in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, it is estimated to be 7.2% on average.

Production and trade

In 2019, world production of rapeseed oil was 24 million

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s, led by Canada, China, and India as the largest producers, accounting together for 40% of the world total. Canada was the world's largest exporter of rapeseed oil in 2019, shipping 3.2 million tonnes or approximately 76% of its total production. The

benchmark price Benchmark price (BP) is the price per unit of quantity in a specific segment of the international marketplace, set by the country or producers' organization that consistently exports the largest quantity or volume in a marketplace such as the Londo ...

for worldwide canola trade is the ICE Futures Canada (formerly

Winnipeg Commodity Exchange ICE Futures Canada (IFCA)—known as the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange (WCE) until 2008—was a derivatives market based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was Canada's only commodity futures exchange. Prior to 2008, WCE was the subsidiary of WCE Holdings In ...

) canola

futures contract In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...

. In China,

meal is mostly used as a soil fertilizer rather than for animal feed, while canola is used mainly for frying food. In the words of one observer, "China has a vegetable oil supply shortage of 20 million tonnes per year. It covers a large percentage of that shortage with soybean imports from Brazil, the U.S. and Argentina."

GMO regulation

There are several forms of genetic modification, such as herbicide (

glyphosate Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum Herbicide, systemic herbicide and Crop desiccation, crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by inhibiting the plan ...

and

, for example) tolerance and different qualities in canola oil. Regulation varies from country to country; for example, glyphosate-resistant canola has been approved in Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Philippines, and the US, while Laurical, a product with a different oil composition, has been approved for growing only in Canada and the US. In 2003, Australia's gene technology regulator approved the release of canola genetically modified to make it resistant to glufosinate ammonium, a herbicide. The introduction of the genetically modified crop to Australia generated considerable controversy. Canola is Australia's third biggest crop, and is used often by wheat farmers as a

break crop Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant ...

to improve soil quality. As of 2008, the only

genetically modified crops Genetically modified crops (GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering methods. Plant genomes can be engineered by physical methods or by use of ''Agrobacterium'' for the delivery of ...

in Australia were canola, cotton, and

carnations ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...

GMO litigation

Genetically modified canola has become a point of controversy and contentious legal battles. In one high-profile case (''

Monsanto Canada Inc v. Schmeiser ''Monsanto Canada Inc v Schmeiser'' 0041 S.C.R. 902, 2004 SCC 34 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada case on patent rights for biotechnology, between a Canadian canola farmer, Percy Schmeiser, and the agricultural biotechnology company Monsanto. ...

'') the

Monsanto Company The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup (herbicide), Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbic ...

sued

Percy Schmeiser Percy Schmeiser (5 January 193113 October 2020) was a Canadian businessman, farmer, and politician. In 1954, he took over the operations of the family owned farm, gas station, and farm equipment dealership. He renamed the farm equipment dealersh ...

for patent infringement after he replanted canola seed he had harvested from his field, which he discovered was contaminated with Monsanto's patented glyphosate-tolerant canola by spraying it with

, leaving only the resistant plants. The Canadian

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruled that Percy was in violation of Monsanto's patent because he knowingly isolated and replanted the resistant seed that he had harvested. On 19 March 2008, Schmeiser and Monsanto Canada Inc. came to an out-of-court settlement whereby Monsanto would pay for the clean-up costs of the contamination, which came to a total of C$660. In

, in the ''Marsh v Baxter'' case, a GM canola farmer was sued by his

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

neighbour because GM canola

contamination Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that spoils, corrupts, infects, makes unfit, or makes inferior a material, physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc. Types of contamination W ...

led to the loss of organic

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

. Although the facts of the case and the losses to the organic farmer were agreed between the parties, the judge did not find the GM farmer liable for the losses.

Production process

Canola oil is made at a processing facility by slightly heating and then crushing the seed. Almost all commercial canola oil is then extracted using

hexane Hexane () is an organic compound, a straight-chain alkane with six carbon atoms and has the molecular formula C6H14. It is a colorless liquid, odorless when pure, and with boiling points approximately . It is widely used as a cheap, relatively ...

solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...

, which is recovered at the end of processing. Finally, the canola oil is refined using water precipitation and organic acid to remove gums and free fatty acids, filtering to remove color, and deodorizing using steam distillation. Sometimes the oil is also bleached for a lighter color.The average density of canola oil is . Cold-pressed and expeller-pressed canola oil are also produced on a more limited basis. About 44% of a seed is oil, with the remainder as a canola meal used for animal feed. About of canola seed makes of canola oil. Canola oil is a key ingredient in many foods. Its reputation as a healthful oil has created high demand in markets around the world, and overall it is the third-most widely consumed vegetable oil, after

soybean oil Soybean oil (British English: soyabean oil) is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the soybean (''Glycine max''). It is one of the most widely consumed cooking oils and the second most consumed vegetable oil. As a drying oil, processed so ...

and

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

. The oil has many non-food uses and, like soybean oil, is often used interchangeably with

non-renewable A non-renewable resource (also called a finite resource) is a natural resource that cannot be readily replaced by natural means at a pace quick enough to keep up with consumption. An example is carbon-based fossil fuels. The original organic mat ...

petroleum-based oils in products, including industrial

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...

candle A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candles i ...

s, lipsticks, and newspaper

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thi ...

s. Canola vegetable oils certified as organic are required to be from non- GMO rapeseed.

Nutrition and health

Canola oil is considered safe for human consumption, and has a relatively low amount of

saturated fat A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched c ...

, a substantial amount of

monounsaturated fat Monounsaturated fats are fatty acids that have one double bond in the fatty acid chain with all of the remainder carbon atoms being single-bonded. By contrast, polyunsaturated fats have more than one double bond. Molecular description Fatty aci ...

, with roughly a 2:1 mono- to

polyunsaturated In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple es ...

fats ratio. In 2006, canola oil was given a qualified

health claim A health claim on a food label and in food marketing is a claim by a manufacturer of food products that their food will reduce the risk of developing a disease or condition. For example, it is claimed by the manufacturers of oat cereals that oat ...

by the United States

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

for lowering the risk of

coronary heart disease Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial ischemia, or simply heart disease, involves the reduction of blood flow to the heart muscle due to build-up of atherosclerotic pla ...

, resulting from its significant content of unsaturated fats; the allowed claim for food labels states:

"Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about 1 tablespoons (19 grams) of canola oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the unsaturated fat content in canola oil. To achieve this possible benefit, canola oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day. One serving of this product contains grams of canola oil."

A 2013 review, sponsored by the Canola Council of Canada and the U.S. Canola Association, concluded there was a substantial reduction in total cholesterol and

low-density lipoprotein Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is one of the five major groups of lipoprotein that transport all fat molecules around the body in extracellular water. These groups, from least dense to most dense, are chylomicrons (aka ULDL by the overall densit ...

(LDL) cholesterol, and an increase in tocopherol levels and improved insulin sensitivity, compared with other sources of dietary fat. A 2014 review of health effects from consuming plant oils rich in

alpha-linolenic acid ''alpha''-Linolenic acid (ALA), also known as α-Linolenic acid (from Greek ''alpha'' meaning "first" and ''linon'' meaning flax), is an ''n''−3, or omega-3, essential fatty acid. ALA is found in many seeds and oils, including flaxseed, waln ...

, including canola, stated that there was moderate benefit for lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, bone fractures, and

type-2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urinatio ...

. A 2019 review of randomized clinical trials found that canola oil consumption reduces total cholesterol (TC) and LDL compared to sunflower oil and

. Consumption of canola oil has been shown to reduce body weight when compared with saturated fat. Regarding individual components, canola oil is low in saturated fat and contains both

omega-6 Omega-6 fatty acids (also referred to as ω-6 fatty acids or ''n''-6 fatty acids) are a family of polyunsaturated fatty acids that have in common a final carbon-carbon double bond in the ''n''-6 position, that is, the sixth bond, counting from ...

and

omega-3 fatty acid Omega−3 fatty acids, also called Omega-3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or ''n''−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond, three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their chem ...

s in a ratio of 2:1. It is high in

s, which may decrease the risk of heart disease.

Erucic acid

Although wild rapeseed oil contains significant amounts of erucic acid, the cultivars used to produce commercial, food-grade canola oil were bred to contain less than 2% erucic acid,U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
CFR – Code of Federal Regulations Title 21
1 April 2010. an amount deemed not significant as a health risk. To date, no health effects have been associated with dietary consumption of erucic acid by humans; but tests of erucic acid metabolism in other species imply that higher levels may be detrimental.Food Standards Australia New Zealand (June 2003
Erucic acid in food: A Toxicological Review and Risk Assessment
Technical report series No. 21; Page 4 paragraph 1; , ISSN 1448-3017Luger CL et al. Food Safety and Foodborne Toxicants. Chapter 14 in Hayes' Principles and Methods of Toxicology, Sixth Edition. Eds A. Wallace Hayes, Claire L. Kruger. CRC Press, 2014 . Quote: "In humans. however. although the long-term use of Lorenzo's oil (oleic acid and erucic acid) in the treatment of adrenoleukodystrophy or adrenomyeloneuropathy leads to thrombocytopenia and lymphopenia (Unkrig et al. 1994), adverse effects from dietary consumption of erucic acid have not been reported." Canola oil produced using

genetically modified Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the gene ...

plants has also not been shown to explicitly produce adverse effects. The erucic acid content in canola oil has been reduced over the years. In western Canada, a reduction occurred from the average content of 0.5% between 1987 and 1996 to a current content of 0.01% from 2008 to 2015. Other reports also show a content lower than 0.1% in Australia and Brazil. It is usually accepted that it poses no unusual health risks, and its consumption in food-grade forms is generally recognized as safe by the

Comparison to other vegetable oils

Uses

Apart from its use for human consumption, rapeseed oil is extensively used as a

for machinery. It was widely used in European domestic lighting before the advent of coal (city) gas or

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

. It was the preferred oil for train pot lamps, and was used for lighting railway coaches in the United Kingdom before

gas lighting Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directl ...

, and later

electric lighting An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...

, were adopted. Burned in a

Carcel lamp The Carcel lamp was an efficient lighting device used in the nineteenth century for domestic purposes and in France as the standard measure for illumination. The lamp was invented by the French watchmaker Bernard Guillaume Carcel (1750–1818) t ...

, it was part of the definition of the French standard measure for illumination, the

carcel The Carcel is a former French unit for measuring the intensity of light. The unit was defined in 1860 as the intensity of a Carcel lamp with standard burner and chimney dimensions, which burnt colza oil (obtained from the seed of the plant Brassi ...

, for most of the nineteenth century. In

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

s, for example in early Canada, rapeseed oil was used before the introduction of

mineral oil Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils. The name 'mineral oil' by itself is imprecise, ...

. Rapeseed oil was used with the

Argand burner Argand may refer to: * Aimé Argand (1755 – 1803), Swiss physicist and chemist and inventor of the argand lamp * Émile Argand (1879 – 1940), Swiss geologist * Jean-Robert Argand Jean-Robert Argand (, , ; July 18, 1768 – August 13, 1 ...

because it was cheaper than

whale oil Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tears, tear" or "drop"). Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the ...

. Rapeseed oil was burned to a limited extent in the Confederacy during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Rapeseed oil was used in Gombault's Caustic Balsam, a popular horse and human

liniment Liniment (from la, linere, meaning "to anoint"), also called embrocation and heat rub, is a medicated topical preparation for application to the skin. Some liniments have viscosity similar to that of water; others are lotion or balm; still other ...

at the turn of the 20th century. Among the more unusual applications of rapeseed oil is the calming of choppy seas, where the oil modifies the

surface tension Surface tension is the tendency of liquid surfaces at rest to shrink into the minimum surface area possible. Surface tension is what allows objects with a higher density than water such as razor blades and insects (e.g. water striders) to f ...

of the water and rapidly smooths the surface. For this purpose, rapeseed oil was carried in ship's lifeboats.

Biodiesel

Rapeseed oil is used as diesel fuel, either as

, straight in heated fuel systems, or blended with petroleum distillates for powering motor vehicles. Biodiesel may be used in pure form in newer engines without engine damage and is frequently combined with fossil-fuel

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

in ratios varying from 2% to 20% biodiesel. Owing to the costs of growing, crushing, and refining rapeseed biodiesel, rapeseed-derived biodiesel from new oil costs more to produce than standard diesel fuel, so diesel fuels are commonly made from the used oil. Rapeseed oil is the preferred oil stock for biodiesel production in most of Europe, accounting for about 80% of the feedstock, partly because rapeseed produces more oil per unit of land area compared to other oil sources, such as soybeans, but primarily because canola oil has a significantly lower

gel point In polymer chemistry, the gel point is an abrupt change in the viscosity of a solution containing polymerizable components. At the gel point, a solution undergoes gelation as reflected in a loss in fluidity. Gelation is characteristic of polymeri ...

than most other vegetable oils. Because of reduction in suitable land caused by climate change, a 2018 study predicted that rapeseed would become an unreliable source of oil for biofuels.

Other edible rapeseed oils

Some less-processed versions of rapeseed oil are used for flavor in some countries. Chinese rapeseed oil was originally extracted from the

field mustard ''Sinapis arvensis'', the charlock mustard, field mustard, wild mustard, or charlock, is an annual or winter annual plant of the genus ''Sinapis'' in the family Brassicaceae. It is found in the fields of North Africa, Asia and Europe. ''Pieris r ...

. In the 19th century, rapeseed (''B. rapa'') was introduced by European traders, and local farmers crossed the new plant with field mustard to produce semi-winter rapeseed. The accidentally similar genetic makeup in this cultivar to canola means the Chinese rape also contains lower levels of erucic acid. The flavor of the oil comes from a different production process: the seeds are toasted before being expeller-pressed, imparting a special flavor. In India,

mustard oil Mustard oil can mean either the pressed oil used for cooking, or a pungent essential oil also known as volatile oil of mustard. The essential oil results from grinding mustard seed, mixing the grounds with water, and extracting the resulting vol ...

is used in cooking. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, some chefs use a "cabbagey" rapeseed oil processed by cold-pressing. This cold process means that the oil has a low smoke point, and is therefore unsuitable for frying in

Sichuan cuisine Sichuan cuisine, alternatively romanized as Szechwan cuisine or Szechuan cuisine (, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan Province. It has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spicin ...

, for example.

Spanish rapeseed poisoning outbreak

In 1981, there was an oil poisoning outbreak, later known as toxic oil syndrome that was attributed to people consuming what they thought was olive oil but turned out to be rapeseed cooking oil that had been denatured with 2%

aniline Aniline is an organic compound with the formula C6 H5 NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the simplest aromatic amine In organic chemistry, an aromatic amine is an organic compound consisting of an aroma ...

(

phenylamine Aniline is an organic compound with the formula C6 H5 NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the simplest aromatic amine. It is an industrially significant commodity chemical, as well as a versatile starting m ...

). The substance was intended for industrial use but had been adulterated and illegally sold as olive oil, mainly in street markets, mostly in the Madrid area.

References

* {{fatsandoils Lubricants Brassica Cooking oils Vegetable oils