Abstract: The present invention discloses a commercial process for the production of refined palm oil rich in natural carotene. The process for the production of natural carotene rich refined oil comprises the steps of: (i) fractionating crude palm oil to form a liquid fraction and a solid portion; (ii) separating the liquid fraction from the solid portion; (iii) degumming the liquid fraction; (iv) neutralizing the degummed liquid fraction to substantially remove free tatty acids and impurities; (v) washing off the soap resulting from the neutralization step; and (vi) deodorizing the neutralized the product of step (v) to remove remaining free fatty acids and other impurities contained therein, thus forming a refined palm oil that contains less than 0.1% free fatty acid, has a carotene content retained of about 75%, an iodine value of less than 60 and a peroxide value of zero.