Castor oil is the oil that comes from castor beans. It is extracted by either pressing or solvent extraction. The castor bean contains 50% to 55% oil. The oil itself contains a lot of fatty acids similar to those used in cooking oil, some examples of this are oleic acid, linoleic acid, stearic acid and palmitic acid. Castor oil is a colourless to a very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odour or taste. Food grade castor oil is used in food additives like flavourings, chocolate, as a mould inhibitor etc.