🧪 Understanding FFA, Acid Value & Peroxide Value in Oils – Complete Buyer Guide 2025

In the global oil and fat industry, quality parameters such as FFA (Free Fatty Acid), Acid Value, and Peroxide Value are some of the most important indicators when buying or evaluating oils—whether for pet food, aquafeed, biodiesel, cosmetics, food processing, or other industrial applications.

This guide helps buyers clearly understand these technical metrics and know how to choose the right oil for their production.

1️⃣ What Is FFA (Free Fatty Acid)?

FFA refers to the percentage of fatty acids that have been released from triglycerides due to hydrolysis, oxidation, or poor handling.

📈 Typical FFA Ranges

In general, high FFA indicates poorer quality, increased oxidation and higher refining cost. Low FFA means fresher, more stable oils that are suitable for sensitive or premium applications.

2️⃣ What Is Acid Value?

Acid Value (AV) measures the number of milligrams of KOH required to neutralize the free fatty acids in 1 gram of oil.

It is another way of expressing FFA: the higher the Acid Value, the higher the FFA.

⭐ Typical Acid Value Ranges

Industrial buyers use Acid Value to estimate refining cost, understand the degree of degradation, and classify the oil grade for different end uses.

3️⃣ What Is Peroxide Value?

Peroxide Value (PV) measures the level of primary oxidation in oils—the amount of peroxides and hydroperoxides formed.

It shows how fresh or oxidized the oil is.

⭐ Interpreting Peroxide Value

High Peroxide Value can cause rancid smell, off-flavors, reduced nutritional value and poor stability during storage. For pet food, aquafeed and food industries, low PV is critical to maintain product quality.

4️⃣ How These Parameters Affect Oil Applications

🐟 Fish Oil

• Low FFA + low PV → suitable for pet food & aquafeed.
• Medium FFA → acceptable for many feed applications.
• High FFA → used for fertilizer or industrial oil markets.

🥥 Coconut Oil

• Low FFA → high-quality refining and edible applications.
• High FFA → requires deeper refining before food use.

🛢️ Used Cooking Oil

• High FFA with controlled PV → commonly used as biodiesel feedstock.

🐄 Beef Tallow

• Low FFA → suitable for food or cosmetic grades.
• Medium FFA → widely used in soap manufacturing.
• High FFA → preferred in certain industrial applications.

5️⃣ How Buyers Should Read a COA (Certificate of Analysis)

When evaluating any oil, always check these key parameters on the COA:

• FFA (%) – lower is better for most applications.
• Acid Value (mg KOH/g) – should correlate with FFA.
• Peroxide Value (meq/kg) – indicates oxidation level.
• Moisture & Impurities (MIU) – high MIU leads to instability and off-odors.
• Color and odor – critical for food-grade and premium products.

Understanding these values helps buyers avoid poor-quality or overly oxidized oils and choose the right grade with the best cost–performance ratio.

6️⃣ Quick Summary Table

7️⃣ Conclusion

Understanding FFA, Acid Value and Peroxide Value is essential for any buyer of oils and fats—whether for pet food, aquafeed, food-grade products, biofuel, soap manufacturing or industrial use.

These parameters determine product quality, stability, refining cost and final performance. Choosing suppliers who maintain strict quality control and provide transparent COAs ensures safer, more consistent and more cost-efficient production.

8️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

9️⃣ About Rich Moon Co., Ltd

🔟 Contact Ms. Jade – Sales Executive