🇸🇦 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · Completed 2023
Precision light-roast tahini-grade sesame oil mill producing pale sesame oil at 130°C ±5°C with SFDA halal certification for a Riyadh tahini manufacturer.
Light pale golden sesame oil tahini production in Saudi Arabia, stainless steel food-grade vessels, Arabic-labelled control panel, halal certified production, clean Middle Eastern food factory interior, gold and white color tones
A Riyadh-based food manufacturer producing tahini, hummus, and sesame-based foods sought to establish an in-house sesame oil production capability. Previously dependent on imported tahini-grade sesame oil, the company faced quality inconsistency and a 28% cost premium over self-produced oil.
The defining technical requirement was pale colour: tahini made with dark-roasted sesame oil turns bitter and develops an undesirable dark appearance. Tahini-grade oil demands light roasting — a deliberate trade-off of 5–8% oil yield for superior colour and flavour characteristics.
Standard sesame oil plants roast at 180–200°C for maximum oil yield (48–52%). Light-roast processing at 120–140°C yields only 40–46% — but produces oil with Lovibond colour below 30Y essential for white tahini. Achieving precise temperature control at ±5°C required a purpose-designed PID-controlled rotary drum roaster, not standard equipment.
SFDA halal certification added documentation requirements: all contact-surface materials needed food-grade certificates, no animal-derived processing aids, and full production traceability. The plant also required an Arabic-language HMI to be operated by Saudi staff.
SinoOil engineered a light-roast precision-controlled sesame oil plant around a CYJ-1.5 rotary drum roaster fitted with a PID temperature controller, thermocouple array, and automatic LPG valve modulation — maintaining 130°C ±5°C regardless of seed moisture variation.
Three 6YL-130 screw presses were run at reduced RPM to minimise friction-generated heat buildup in the press barrel, ensuring pressed cake exit temperature stayed below 60°C. All contact surfaces were constructed from SS304/SS316 with food-grade documentation for SFDA compliance. Natural settling (48 hours) combined with plate filtration produced oil with FFA below 0.3% and colour consistently below 25Y Lovibond.
| # | Equipment | Model | Specification / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sesame Cleaning Screen | TQLZ50 | Removes impurities, dust, straw from raw sesame |
| 2 | Destoner | TQSx-15 | Removes stones — protects press barrels and ensures SFDA compliance |
| 3 | Precision-Controlled Rotary Roaster | CYJ-1.5 | PID temperature controller, target 130°C ±5°C; LPG-fired with thermocouple array |
| 4 | Screw Press (×3) | 6YL-130 | Light-roast optimized; reduced RPM minimises friction heat; SS304 press cages |
| 5 | Natural Settling Tanks (×3) | SS304 2T | 48-hour gravity settling for initial oil clarification |
| 6 | Plate Filter | BASY-320 | SS304 construction; polishing filtration for pale sesame oil |
| 7 | Pale Sesame Oil Storage (×4) | SS316 3T | SS316 for premium-grade oil storage; 12T total capacity |
| 8 | Arabic-Language PLC HMI Panel | — | Full Arabic interface; Saudi operators; temperature setpoint control |
| 9 | SFDA Food Contact Documentation | — | Material certificates for all food-contact surfaces (SS304/SS316, food-grade gaskets) |
| 10 | Lovibond Colour Meter | — | In-line quality control instrument; verifies <30Y Lovibond per batch |
| 11 | FFA Test Kit | — | Incoming sesame QC and finished oil free fatty acid verification |
"Our tahini product quality depends directly on the sesame oil we use. With our own plant, we control the roasting temperature precisely. Our tahini has improved colour consistency and a more authentic flavour. The SFDA halal certification came quickly because SinoOil provided all the material compliance documentation we needed."— Production Manager, Riyadh tahini company | April 2023
Light sesame oil for tahini is produced by roasting seeds at 120–140°C, yielding pale yellow oil with Lovibond colour below 30Y, mild nutty aroma, and neutral flavour — essential for producing white tahini with the correct appearance. Dark sesame oil uses 180–200°C roasting, producing deep amber oil (above 150Y Lovibond) with intense toasted aroma suited for Asian cooking and seasoning. The light roast sacrifices 5–8% oil yield for the superior colour and flavour characteristics critical to premium tahini quality.
Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) halal certification requires: no animal-derived processing aids or lubricants in contact with food, stainless steel food-contact surfaces with documented material certificates (SS304 or SS316), separate production lines from non-halal products, halal certificates from raw material suppliers, GMP compliance across the production facility, and full production traceability documentation. SFDA typically issues halal certification within 45–90 days for fully compliant facilities. SinoOil prepares complete material compliance documentation packages to facilitate this process.
The Lovibond tintometer measures oil colour by comparing a column of oil against calibrated glass colour standards in yellow (Y) and red (R) values. Tahini-grade light sesame oil targets below 25–30Y Lovibond. Standard roasted sesame oil typically reads 100–200Y. Lower Lovibond Y values indicate paler, higher-quality tahini oil. Measurement is performed at a standard path length (typically 1 inch or 5.25 inches for pale oils). Regular Lovibond measurement during production ensures batch-to-batch colour consistency that tahini manufacturers require.
Saudi Arabia imports sesame primarily from Ethiopia, Sudan, India, and Myanmar. Ethiopian and Sudanese white sesame (Humera variety from Tigray region) is the premium choice for tahini-grade oil production due to its naturally pale colour, thin seed coat, and high oil content (48–52%). Indian sesame is more economical for standard grades. Local Saudi sesame from Al-Jouf and Jizan regions produces excellent quality but at limited volumes. For tahini-grade production, Ethiopian Humera white sesame is generally the benchmark raw material.
Sesame roasting temperature drives Maillard reactions that create flavour compounds (pyrazines, furans) and progressively darken oil colour through melanoidin formation. At 120–140°C (light roast): pale yellow oil, mild nutty flavour, low pyrazine content, suitable for tahini. At 160–180°C (medium roast): golden oil, moderate toasted flavour. At 190–210°C (dark roast): deep amber oil, intense toasted aroma, high pyrazine content for Asian cooking and seasoning. Temperature precision of ±5°C is critical — even a 10°C deviation significantly changes the final oil flavour profile and Lovibond colour reading, making PID temperature control essential for consistent tahini-grade production.
Tell us your capacity, target oil grade (light/dark/tahini), and certification requirements. We provide free plant design with equipment layout and ROI calculations.