Palm oil is second only to soyabean oil in world production of vegetable oils, and makes up more than half of total oil exports (Gunstone, 2003). Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), a by-product of palm oil refining, makes up approximately 5% of the 28million tonnes of palm oil expected to be produced in 2004. A primary market for PFAD is the animal feed industry. PFAD is an attractive ingredient as a fat supplement for livestock; it is readily available, relatively stable to oxidant rancidity and relatively inexpensive, although prices have been volatile in recent years. Its use has continued to increase as fatty acids, as hydrogenated fatty acids, or as calcium soaps. From the volume of published literature, it may be concluded that the greatest use of palm oil is in ruminant diets, especially dairy, either as hydrogenated fatty acids or as the calcium soaps. Rather less information is available using palm oil in diets of pigs, chickens and fish. No information was found from a search of literature for using palm oil in horse, dog or cat diets.
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