Vegetable oils tend to be less stable and turn rancid more quickly than do animal fats. They can also become several times more rancid than animal fats, even before the human sense of smell can detect it. Unsaturated fats are more susceptible to oxidation than are saturated fats, meaning the more polyunsaturated a fat is, the faster it will go rancid. This is due to the more unstable double bonds, which allow more oxygen to react at those points. Oils generally don’t suddenly go rancid; they tend to slowly become more oxidized over time.

There are two basic types or causes of rancidity that cause and/or contribute to the degradation of stored edible oils: oxidative and hydrolytic. Oxidative rancidity, known as autoxidation, occurs when oxygen is absorbed from the environment. In the presence of oxygen and/or ultraviolet (UV) radiation, most lipids will break down and degrade, forming several other compounds. Oxygen is eight times more soluble in fats than it is in water; it is this exposure that is the main cause of the autoxidation process, increasing the saturation of the oil.

Hydrolytic rancidity, also called hydrolysis or enzymatic oxidation, occurs in the absence of air, but with moisture present. This normally is accomplished through enzymatic peroxidation, where enzymes found naturally in plant oils