Cold-Pressed Oil Explained: What the Label Means and When It Matters

What Does Cold-Pressed Oil Mean?

A cold-pressed oil is made by crushing the raw material in a press (usually a screw press, sometimes a hydraulic press) and collecting the oil that runs out. Nothing is added to dissolve the oil out of the seed, and the oil is not chemically refined. It is usually just settled and filtered.

The international food standard for vegetable oils, Codex Alimentarius, defines cold-pressed oils as those obtained "by mechanical procedures only, e.g. expelling or pressing, without the application of heat." After pressing, the standard lets producers clean the oil in just four ways: rinsing it with water, letting it settle, filtering it, or spinning it in a centrifuge. It defines "virgin" oils the same way, except that heat may be applied. No food additives are permitted in either.

In practice, pressing creates friction, so some heat is unavoidable. Penn State Extension describes the common working rule: cold-pressed means the oil is extracted below 49°C (120°F). The faster a screw press runs, the hotter the oil and meal get, which is why cold pressing is slower.

The US has no legal rule behind the label. According to Labels Unwrapped, a food labeling project of Vermont Law and Graduate School, there is no federal definition for "cold-pressed," and "expeller-pressed," "refined" and "unrefined" have no federal definitions either. The European Union is stricter for olive oil: the phrases "first cold pressing" and "cold extraction" may appear only on extra virgin or virgin olive oil produced below 27°C (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012).

Cold-Pressed vs Expeller-Pressed vs Solvent-Extracted vs Refined

Expeller-pressed oil is also squeezed out mechanically with a screw press, but without a temperature limit. Seeds are sometimes warmed first to release more oil (Penn State Extension). An expeller-pressed oil may or may not be refined afterward, so read the rest of the label.

Solvent-extracted oil is dissolved out of the seed with a solvent, most often hexane, which gets far more oil out of each seed. A 2026 systematic review in Frontiers in Nutrition notes that solvent extraction achieves high yield but removes some beneficial compounds and can leave residues, while cold pressing yields less oil of higher nutritional quality (Dash et al., 2026).

Refined oil goes through further processing to remove free fatty acids, color, odor and other minor compounds. Refining gives a neutral, shelf-stable oil with a higher, more predictable smoke point (Díez-Betriu et al., Foods, 2025). It also strips out natural antioxidants: a 2025 analysis of cold-pressed oils noted that, unlike refined oils, they keep their phytosterols and tocopherols (vitamin E) (Dean, Frontiers in Nutrition, 2025).

One useful shortcut: certified organic oils cannot be solvent-extracted with hexane. The USDA organic rules bar volatile synthetic solvents from use on products and ingredients labeled organic (7 CFR 205.270).

What Cold Pressing Preserves

Because nothing is refined away, cold-pressed oils keep the minor compounds that travel with the fat: tocopherols (vitamin E), phytosterols, carotenoid pigments, phenolic compounds and the aroma molecules that make pumpkin seed oil taste of pumpkin seeds and sesame oil taste of sesame (Dash et al., 2026; Dean, 2025). That is why a cold-pressed oil usually tastes and looks more like its source.

The fatty acids themselves are the same whether an oil is cold-pressed or refined. Flaxseed oil is rich in the omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) either way (up to about 52% of its fatty acids), and coconut oil is high in lauric acid either way (Dash et al., 2026). Much of the published research compares the chemistry of cold-pressed and refined oils rather than health outcomes in people, so treat cold pressing as a quality and flavor choice, not a health promise.

Smoke Point and Cooking With Cold-Pressed Oil

The smoke point is the temperature at which an oil starts to give off a thin, continuous stream of smoke. It depends mostly on free fatty acids and other small volatile compounds. Refining removes most of these, so refined oils have higher and more consistent smoke points than virgin oils (Díez-Betriu et al., 2025). The same study notes that professional and scientific sources generally recommend oils with smoke points above 200°C for frying.

Published smoke points for unrefined oils vary widely between brands and batches, so we don't list a single number for each. A practical rule: use cold-pressed oils for dressings, drizzling, dips and gentle cooking, and choose a refined oil for deep frying and hard searing. Oils high in polyunsaturated fat, like flax, are the most easily damaged by heat and air and are best never heated at all (Dash et al., 2026).

Common Cold-Pressed Oils and How to Use Them

For more on two of these, see our guides to black seed oil and Jamaican black castor oil, which is made from roasted rather than raw castor beans. Milk thistle seed oil is also sold cold-pressed; see our milk thistle seed oil guide.

How to Read a Cold-Pressed Oil Label

• "Cold-pressed": a production claim with no US legal definition. Trust brands that explain their process.
• "Unrefined": the oil was not refined after pressing. Also not federally defined, but it usually goes with fuller flavor and a lower smoke point.
• "Virgin" or "extra virgin": for olive oil, USDA grade standards apply. For coconut oil, FDA has not defined "extra virgin" (Labels Unwrapped).
• "Expeller-pressed": mechanically pressed, but heat was not necessarily limited.
• "Hexane-free" or "certified organic": no hexane solvent was used.
• The bottle and date: dark glass or opaque packaging protects against light. Check the best-by date and buy a size you will finish in a few months.

How to Store Cold-Pressed Oil

Because their natural compounds have not been stripped out, cold-pressed oils are more prone to oxidation and have a shorter shelf life than refined oils (Dash et al., 2026). Light, heat and air speed rancidity. Keep bottles tightly closed in a cool, dark cupboard, away from the stove. Refrigerate delicate oils high in polyunsaturated fat, especially flax, and follow the label. If an oil smells stale or sharp instead of fresh, replace it.

Find It at William's

• Amazing Herbs Premium Black Seed Oil, 4 oz: a cold-pressed liquid Nigella sativa oil.
• Nature's Way cold-pressed flax oil, 1300 mg softgels: flax oil in softgel form, an easy way to take it without measuring.
• NOW organic virgin coconut oil, 20 oz: NOW describes it as cold-pressed and unrefined. Good for baking and moderate-heat cooking.
• NOW organic castor oil, 8 oz: a good label-reading example. NOW describes it as expeller-pressed and hexane-free rather than cold-pressed. It is sold for skin and hair use.

Frequently Asked Questions