The popularity of coconut oil has skyrocketed in recent years. It seems as though everyone is starting to realize what traditional South Pacific cultures with virtually no heart disease knew for centuries: Â coconut oil is one of the healthiest fats on the planet and is a boon to health when plentiful amounts are present in the diet.
Even Dr. Oz recommends coconut oil. When a TV medical doctor is extolling the virtues of coconut oil, you know it has well and truly gone mainstream!
The problem is that good quality virgin coconut oil is not particularly inexpensive. And with more and more budget conscious families demanding coconut oil, the big box wholesalers like Costco have been faced with a dilemma – how best to capitalize on the coconut oil frenzy while keeping the price dirt cheap.
I’ll admit that I’ve been suspicious of the big box wholesaler brands of coconut oil for quite awhile. The price just didn’t jive with the price I knew to be necessary to ensure a quality, pure product.
It seems that evidence is now emerging that my suspicions have been justified.
Mary M. messaged me on my Facebook page just yesterday complaining about the big jar of Costco coconut oil (picture above).  She writes:
“I just opened and began using a big container of coconut oil (got it at Costco) that I’ve had for maybe 3 months and it has sat on my pantry shelf (outside in my garage, I live in Texas so it’s gotten hotter than 100 degrees).
It smells like burned marshmallows, or maybe the inside of a pumpkin on Halloween. Since I can’t find any web sites that describe the smell (other than “yucky” and “very, very bad”) for rancid coconut oil, could you please help me out? I can’t stand to put it on my face….but can I still cook with it?”
Absolutely not.
You don’t want to ever use, cook with, or put on your skin an oil that smells bad!
Mary’s email about her jar of Costco coconut oil raised two big red flags to me. First of all, I’ve been using coconut oil and virgin coconut oil for many years and I have never had it go off, even when kept for a year or two in my garage where the temperature easily reaches a 110-120F on humid August afternoons.
Coconut oil is an extremely stable oil and should never have gone bad such as what Mary M. experienced, provided it is pure, 100% coconut oil and it was filtered properly so that none of the coconut protein was left in the oil.
The second red flag about this Costco coconut oil was the wording of the label. Â There is no such thing as “extra virgin coconut oil”. Â It is either refined coconut oil or virgin coconut oil. A friend of mine who is the owner of a company that is a quality purveyor of virgin coconut oil had this to say:
“… any product that uses the term ‘extra virgin’ and it does not pertain to olive oil is using the term outside its definition… Trying to market something that does not exist.”
Does this mean use of the misleading term “extra virgin coconut oil” indicates an inferior product? Â Not necessarily. Â It is simply a red flag that further investigation to ensure a quality product is required particularly if the product is found on a shelf at Costco or other large retailer for a price that is too good to be true.
Why Inexpensive Costco Coconut Oil is Likely of Poor Quality
There are a couple of potential reasons why Mary M’s Costco coconut oil went bad.
First of all, it might not have been 100% pure coconut oil at all.
Not pure coconut oil? Not so far fetched. This is what the olive oil industry has been doing for years, blending cheaper oils with extra virgin olive oil and marketing it as pure extra virgin olive oil. Since the majority of the oil is indeed “pure” extra virgin, they get away with labeling it as such even though other cheaper usually rancid oils are present. However, what restaurants do is even worse. Most use “olive oil blends” for cooking that are actually 75% canola oil and only 25% olive oil. If you ask them what they use for cooking, most in my experience will simply respond “olive oil” even when this is not really true.
If Mary M’s Costco coconut oil had vegetable oils or cheaper hydrogenated palm oil blended in, even if organic and in small amounts, it would be prone to going off sitting in a hot pantry for a few months causing the entire jar to stink after awhile.
Another possibility is that the oil was improperly filtered and is inferior quality coconut oil subject to rancidity as a result. Â My friend mentioned earlier who is the owner of a company that sells quality virgin coconut oil had this to say when I asked him about Mary’s coconut oil problem and how it could possibly go rancid:
“The only thing I have seen is during the filtering process. Â If they run it too fast or do not change the filters, one can get pieces of coconut (protein) in the product. Â You will not see it other than with time you might see a slight change in color on the bottom of the container. Â And this product can culture at the bottom of the container and it will have a culture smell.”
Another friend who also owns a company that sells high quality virgin coconut oil had this to add:
“It is possible that it was not 100% Coconut Oil. However, I suspect that it was just very old oil and not fresh. Since there is so much demand for Coconut Oil, fresh lots will be sold for money and may not be available at discount stores.”
Was Mary’s Costco coconut oil cut with a small percentage of cheaper oils to boost manufacturer and/or coconut oil reseller profits, poorly filtered causing the coconut protein bits to “culture” the oil, or just old, manufacturer’s defect oil?
It’s anybody’s guess, but one thing is for sure.  It was not fresh, high quality Grade A coconut oil. Good quality, pure coconut oil that has been properly filtered does not go bad in a hot 100F pantry even if in a plastic tub.  Cheaply priced coconut oil at a discount store runs the risk of being old, improperly filtered (manufacturer’s defect) and not the best choice for your health.
Is it a high risk? Â Maybe, maybe not. Â There’s certainly not enough data to confirm one way or the other at this point. As for me, I’m personally not willing to trust a huge corporation to properly source my healthy fats – the fats that build my children’s brain and support their immune function.
The lesson to be learned from Mary’s experience from my perspective is that you get what you pay for whether it be coconut oil or any other food item. Buying coconut oil at Costco, Walmart or some other big box retailer that bases stocking decisions primarily on low price obtained via buying huge quantities at once is a big risk that what you get is going to be poor quality coconut oil that is either potentially blended with cheap oils or is a Grade B, poorly filtered product. Cheap oil that is subject to rancidity and loaded with free radicals risks your health.
It may look and smell fine when you open the jar, but the real test is does it stay looking and smelling fine in a hot pantry or garage after several months?
You can’t tell just by looking at it or tasting it that is 100% virgin coconut oil that has been properly filtered.
Just like with extra virgin olive oil, the only way to ensure a quality product is to buy from a quality small business, not a big box retailer like Costco that buys large amounts of inventory from manufacturers and dumps it on the consumer market at ultra cheap prices. Â While you may get a decent product for a cheap price some of the time, I personally am not willing to take the chance with my healthy fats – the most critical aspect of Traditional Diet – that it will be a quality purchase 100% of the time like what would happen if I bought from a small, trusted producer.
Anything can happen and frequently does as a food item makes its way through the Industrial Food Distribution System!
UPDATE: Since this article was published in June 2013, dozens of other consumers have emailed me with stories of rock bottom priced, poor quality coconut oil being purchased not just at Costco, but other Big Box retailers. Â Buyer beware!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
More Information
Coconut Oil May Not Be Right for You
MCT Oil: The Coconut Oil Dregs
I have been using this brand for quite some time with no problems. We live in Central FL without central air so it gets pretty warm sometimes. I have to say that with no actual testing or even personal use it seems pretty unfair to judge. I have read negative articles about “the” recommended brand of cod liver oil as well…someone’s opinion but based at least upon personal use. I’m not sure what everyone else does for a living but we are a family of four with my husband and I both working and it is really hard if not impossible for is to afford all of the recommended products. Of course we all want the best quality available but with raw milk at $11 a gallon, free range eggs at $5 a doz., and the high prices of pastured meats and organic produce….we just can’t do it all! A post like this can make people struggling but trying want to throw in the towel.
EXACTLY! thanks Sarah! we are a family of 6 with 1 full-time income and a small secondary income. Let’s be realistic…I have to feed my kids and if I spend what some self-appointed health expert says I have to spend, we’d run out of food within a week! I give anyone trying to eat healthier whole foods in this economy a huge pat on the back. We are trying to do just that, but there is always someone out there to say it isn’t good enough. It will just have to be. Best wishes to you Sarah!
I wish I could buy raw milk for $11 gallon. In Canada we pay $22.69/gallon. Eggs are about $5.00 doz. As you say, it’s really tough to eat well. Just do the best you can.
i guess i’m lucky to get milk for $7.50 then. but eggs are $4.
Woah Heather!
I get a gallon of raw milk a week for $50/month (I also had to buy a share in the cow to start) and I’m in Canada. It DID take me 4 years to find this farm and their lovely ladies though. $22.69 yikes! (I sell my pastured eggs for $4 / dozen – just enough for the ladies to support themselves and keep the family in eggs too)
We are in Canada and only pay around $8 for a gallon (4 litres) of “milk” and we get our eggs for $3.75 a dozen from a farmers market. But there are no places to get any raw milk on the east coast and there aren’t even any cow shares around here.
How close are you to Eustis?
Quite a ways, probably about an hour, we are in Oviedo.
Yep, any savings would be lost in fuel. Thought I would check though.
Interesting… I have found some very high quality brands labeled “extra virgin”, despite the fact this article states there is no such thing as “extra virgin” coconut oil.
Nutriva “Extra Virgin”
Nature’s Way “Extra Virgin”
Artisana “Extra Virgin”
Barlean’s “Extra Virgin”
Jarrows Formula “Extra Virgin”
Vitacost “Extra Virgin”
The only brand I came across that wasn’t “extra virgin” was Tropical Traditions and they have a good article explaining exactly what “virgin” coconut oil means and how it is derived: http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/what_is_virgin_coconut_oil.htm
“What is “Extra Virgin Coconut Oil?”
Some retailers and manufacturers of Virgin Coconut Oils, referring to one of the processes mentioned above, call their coconut oil “Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.” But there are no other processes used to make coconut oil other than the ones mentioned above, so this classification is simply arbitrary. There is no official classification or difference between “virgin” and “extra virgin” as there is in the olive oil industry, since the two oils are completely different in fatty acid composition, harvesting procedures, and terminology”.
Although I would never buy coconut oil from Costco/Sams/Walmart, etc, I feel safe buying any of the brands listed above as long as it is organic and hexane-free.
Toxic Free Mother. please DO consider buying brands from Costco. It is a very good one, as is Nutiva, which Costco sells. And Nutiva says “extra virgin” as well. This post is pure conjecture. Another woman spent a lot of time and effort researching Carrington Farms and posted an article that it is what it says it is. No company can be held to standard for never having ONE jar of something go bad. It happens.
The article is on Evolving Wellness website and is about “How to Choose a Coconut Oil”
i have bought vitacost coconut oil too and i have never had a problem. it seems there is a lot of misuse of the term extra virgin. vitacost and tropical traditions haven’t done me wrong yet.
I think it has to do with rules about labeling. In Canada I the coconut oil just says virgin not extra virgin.
I used to use Nutiva and switched to Carrington. It’s a stellar brand.
We have been using and enjoying the Coconut Oil (Carrington) from Costco. We have never had a problem with rancid smells, off-color, etc. Always tastes and smells fresh and good. We are careful to always use clean utensils when accessing the oil. In any event, it seems best to check into the validity of the speculation (i.e. not 100% pure, etc.).
Do you know anything about Trader Joes organic coconut oil? I’ve never had any bad smells or anything with it but the low cost makes me sceptical, it’s only $5.99 a jar.
Trader Joe’s brand is in the WAPF Shopping Guide. And it comes in glass! I recently learned that oils/fats leach out the chemicals in plastics more readily that dry ingredients. So I took back my Nutiva to Costco just yesterday and bought Trader Joe’s.
I’ve used the Trader Joe’s brand too and really like it. Trader Joe’s has very high standards. I’ve grilled them on a number of their products and have been very happy with their responses.
Hmmm… under your own “Fats, Oils, and Coconut Products” tab, you have a link to a company called Perfect Supplements. The description of their coconut oil says “extra-virgin”…just wanted to point that out to you!
Found this on the Radiant Life web site:
Perfect Supplements
Perfect Supplements offers the finest wild crafted and organic coconut products available. Popular products include Perfect Coconut Oil – Certified Organic, Extra-Virgin, Unrefined, Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil & Green Pasture Infused Coconut Oil- the perfect blend of Blue Breeze Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, X-Factor Gold Butter Oil, Blue Ice Fermented Cod Liver Oil, and Blue Ice Fermented Skate Liver Oil. Buy 3 containers of Perfect Coconut Oil and save 25% automatically. Visit our store!
I have not tried Carrington Farms CO, but I’ve never heard anything bad about it. Just because 1 person allegedly got a bad jar does not mean that ALL of the CO @ Costco is poor quality. Nor does it mean that Carrington Farms is poor quality. I think it would have been fair to contact Carrington farms before slandering them.
I did just contact them by email, mentioning this blog article and asking for their input. Here is their very quick response:
Thank you for your interest in Carrington Farms Unrefined Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. And thanks for referring to the blog post. I have read through the blog and have noticed she is selling another brand of coconut oil. That said, I would like to let you know a bit about ours. I have attached an FAQ that answers many of our most common questions. We are able to offer the price to Costco that you see due the economies of scale. They buy upwards to 60 truckloads of coconut oil per month so we are able to ship and manufacture economically. However, our same brand sells for a much higher price in a local health food store since it is much more expensive per jar to manufacture and ship them a case of 6 then per jar on a truckload. In all our research there seems to be no difference between ‘Virgin’ and ‘Extra Virgin’. Our Canadian label says Virgin as that is the rule for labeling there, in the US we use Extra Virgin on the label. The coconut oil is the same. There are no other oils, or ANYTHING, added to our pure expeller cold pressed coconut oil. We use only raw fresh coconut meat taken from Organic coconuts and press it in the Philippines. Each lot is tested to ensure that we are bottling 100% pure coconut oil.
Please let me know if this helps answer your questions and if you would like any additional information.
Regards,
Debbie Shandel
Carrington Co., LLC
http://www.carringtontea.com
http://www.carringtonfarms.com
Thank you, Naomi!
Normally I am totally on board with your posts but today, it just rubbed me the wrong way. You are just speculating on this product. I buy this coconut oil from my local Costco and I live in Austin, Texas. I have gone through 3 or 4 of these. They are 100% coconut oil. However, some of them have white coconut flakes at the bottom. This could be the reason “Mary’s” coconut oil went bad (because of the protein) or maybe she contaminated it herself. She said she opened it and started using it. Did it smell rancid the very first time she opened it? It is not refined so it has the coconut smell and taste. I have several on my shelf in my back stock so I don’t use them right away. They have never have gone bad on me. I don’t know if it is worth putting it in 100 degree heat to see if it turns rancid. I use it for everything (cooking, baking, baby bum, and on my face). Like most people, I do not have extra money floating around to buy the most expensive brand of coconut oil out there. I would rather spend my money on the best grass fed beef and Green Pastures Cod Liver Oil where top quality really makes a HUGE difference. For me, I will buy Costco “cheap organic” coconut oil. After all, it is organic, cold pressed and 100% coconut oil.
Coconut flakes on the bottom? This indicates poor quality coconut oil that has been improperly filtered. There should be no coconut protein left!
I wondered, too, if one can accidentally contaminate their coconut oil (especially the expensive kind) by using a spoon to scoop that was used mixing something else. I recently found out that you shouldn’t double dip your spreader in the good mustard after placing it in the mayo. I’m sure there are plenty of casual mistakes which could have also contaminated her oil. Also, I’m not sure I would say a few flakes would make it worth throwing the baby out so to say. I don’t live in a barn nor do I need to store my food outside. Although I appreciate looking for a more perfect food, I wouldn’t necessarily condemn a cheaper (and slightly less superior) food altogether.
BTW- I love my Artisana raw 100% organic coconut butter. It’s almost all coconut protein with a thin layer of oil on top. Of course, it’s not coconut oil but it’s delicious and can be used as a substitute for butter as a spread as well as in smoothies and such which I enjoy.
When my son was on the raw milk formula, I was making a batch daily, and kept a small jar of Nutiva coconut oil with my other formula supplies. I would add the coconut oil to a small pan of warmed water/gelatin mixture to melt. Though I was very careful, I did contaminate my jar one time. I must have dipped in with a measuring spoon that had another ingredient on it. There was actually mold growing in the coconut oil when I went to use it one day. Thankfully it was just a small amount that I took from my larger jar. I have been very careful to only use clean utensils in my coconut oil since then.
Speaking of coconut butter, it’s interesting that the label on Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Concentrate (also called coconut butter) says it does not require refrigeration. It says to store above 75F for a creamier consistency, and that coconut cream is 100% pure finely ground coconut containing 70% coconut oil. So in this case it seems the presence of ground coconut does not present a storage problem and it can be stored at warm temperatures with no issue.
I don’t know if “improperly filtered” = poor oil. Oil that perhaps has a shorter shelf life than it originally would, but I’m not sure that equates to poor quality. Ideal, maybe not, but poor, no. I have bought this brand (and other more expensive brands) and had no trouble with it at all. Granted I go through it fairly quickly since I use it for all kinds of things from toothpaste to deodorant to actual cooking and all sorts of things in between. But I wouldn’t condemn the whole brand because one person got a batch they assume was bad when they bought it. Contamination could happen all sorts of ways. While I appreciate knowing that a term has no real meaning, and is used as a marketing ploy, it doesn’t mean I am going to put that above experience and common sense, which tells me this brand is fine.
I haven’t seen any of these flakes in the Carrington Farms brand I’ve bought at Costco. I wonder if they could have had a bad batch?
I buy coconut oil online – the Tropical Traditions one. Is this a good brand? I have both the virgin coconut oil and refined expeller pressed coconut oil. I buy it in bulk and keep it at home but noticed that I still have a jar of the refined expeller pressed coconut oil that I forgot about in the storage. There’s a expiry date on it which is July 28, 2013. Should I use what I can before the expiry date and then toss it or is refined expeller pressed coconut oil still safe and okay to use past the expiry date?
Yes, Tropical Traditions (and Radiant Life, Wilderness Family Naturals and Nutiva) are good brands. I would personally not throw it out after the expiry date, as long as it looks and tastes fine. We have 5 gallon buckets that have moved with us from Texas to Connecticut to New Hampshire with no problems, and I’m sure we’re past the expiry date at this point with zero issues. 🙂
i buy tropical traditions most of the time and it is pure. i also have heard unofficially that coconut oil really never expires. so i would only throw it away if there is an obvious problem. if you buy in bulk, use only a clean utensil or scoop to get the oil out of the container so you don’t contaminate it. it could go bad that way if something else gets in the container.
I strictly use Tropical Traditions coconut oils. If mine expire I use them for uses not ingested instead. Like a moisturizer, children’s hair detangler and makeup remover, etc. I use mine to cook with well past the expiration date and have not ever had a problem.
My coconut oil that it from Tropical Traditions at least a year past it’s expiry date, it still tastes, smells and looks wonderful.
I got the Carrington Farms brand at Costco and I told my husband last week that I thought it tasted and smelled toasty, like maybe a slightly burned flavor. Not a horrible bad flavor, but definitely different than the organic cold pressed that we use from Wilderness Family Naturals (which we had run out of). Interesting!