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  • What are shea nuts used for?
  • Shea nuts are usually processed and used for Shea butter extraction which have wide applications in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries . It is used as cocoa butter equivalent (CBE) and enhancer in chocolate manufacturing, providing greater stability and extended shelf life [6,9]. ... ...
  • How many raw shea nuts are produced in Africa?
  • Africa produces approximately 1,760,000 metric tons (MT) of raw shea nuts a year, and historically, most of this stayed within the African continent to supply domestic demand. The shea export market traditionally traded raw shea kernels rather than shea butter or other finished products.
  • How much is a shea nut worth?
  • The annual worldwide export of shea nut from Africa is 350,000 MT of kernels with a market value of approximately $120 million to producing countries. The multifunctional properties of the shea butter depend strictly on its compositional properties: the peroxide value, moisture content, free fatty acid level and the insoluble impurities.
  • How is shea butter extracted?
  • Standard extraction technologies: the traditional, mechanized, enzymatic and chemical methods were used for shea butter extraction. Current extraction technologies which rely on different extraction parameters for shea butter extraction are yet to yield the desired qualities and efficiencies of butter.
  • How is shea butter extracted in Ghana?
  • Extraction of shea butter is a major income generating activity in Ghana, particularly in the Northern Regions. It is estimated that about 80% of the shea butter produced in Ghana is processed by women using traditional aqueous extraction method. Commercial extraction using continuous screw press accounts for about 20% of production.
  • How is shea oil extracted?
  • As a result, many shea producers are adopting more mechanized solutions to improve quality and yield. Larger processors use mechanical extraction equipment to recover more oil efficiently. Screw press expellers physically crush the shea kernels to squeeze out shea oil from the solid meal, which exits the expeller as a cake.