Sunflower oil is a nutritious and widely used vegetable oil, which is mainly extracted from sunflower seeds. Its processing process includes many steps, from raw material treatment to final product packaging, each step needs strict quality control to ensure the purity and safety of oil products. The following is the main processing process of sunflower seed oil:

1. Raw material screening and cleaning

First, choose high-quality sunflower seeds as raw materials. These sunflower seeds must be strictly screened to remove impurities, stones and other foreign bodies. Subsequently, the sunflower seeds are thoroughly cleaned by cleaning equipment to remove dust and dirt on the surface and ensure the cleanliness and hygiene of the processing raw materials.

2. Shelling and cooking seeds

The cleaned sunflower seeds need to be shelled to separate sunflower seeds. The shelled seeds will be sent to the seed frying equipment, and the oil in the seeds will be released more easily through proper heating, and the flavor and quality of the oil will be improved at the same time.（What are the pretreatment steps of sunflower seed processing?）

3. Pressing or leaching

In the process of processing, pressing method and leaching method are two common ways to extract oil. Pressing method directly presses sunflower seeds through mechanical equipment to extract primary pressed oil; But the leaching method uses solvent to separate oil from sunflower seeds. These two methods have their own advantages and disadvantages, and the specific choice depends on the production demand and technical conditions.

4. Oil refining

The primary oil obtained from pressing or leaching process contains impurities and needs further refining. The refining process includes degumming, deacidification, decoloration and deodorization to remove phospholipids, free fatty acids, pigments and peculiar smell, and finally obtain clear and transparent sunflower oil with stable quality.

5. Quality inspection and packaging

Refined sunflower seed oil also needs to undergo strict quality inspection to ensure that it meets food safety standards. After passing the test, the oil will be filled into bottles or barrels and labeled for packaging. Finally, the refined oil is transported to the market through logistics for consumers to buy and use.

Sunflower seed oil is popular because of its unique flavor, high content of unsaturated fatty acids and rich vitamin E. Scientific and rigorous processing not only ensures the quality of oil products, but also reflects the importance of health and safety in modern food industry. Through these steps, sunflower seed oil has changed from ordinary sunflower seeds to an important condiment in the kitchen, adding delicacy and nutrition to people’s diet.