Fats and oils form a significant part of the ingredients within the food industry. They are also necessary, to certain levels, for human health.
They are diverse, though some could be generally classified as either animal or plant-based. Examples of animal products could include fats from pigs, beef, sheep, veal, poultry and fish. Herring, cod and tuna are among the oilier fish.
There are also vegetable oils and fats, such as those from nuts, kernels and seeds.
Dairy fats include butter and related products such as butter fat and butteroil or butter powder. Butter may be salted or not.
When marketing oil and fat ingredients, firms may make a number of claims about them. They may point out that they are non-hydrogenated, organic, vegetable-based, native or pure.
According to business lobby group the CBI, one of the biggest players in the world market for vegetable-based oils and fats is the EU. Major leaders include the Netherlands, Germany and Italy and these are expanding.
Within Europe, the vegetable oil or fat most in demand is palm oil - in 2007, this enjoyed a market share of 40 per cent.
However, a number of other vegetable oils also take a strong space within the EU market, such as olive oil (21 per cent) and sunflower and safflower oil (20 per cent).
Coconut, palm kernel, maize and groundnut oils feature significantly as well.
Spain produces more vegetable fats and oils than any other EU member country, according to the CBI's study.
