Baking & Snack - November 2003 - 62

INGREDIENT TECHNOLOGY

Case in point: High-oleic sunflower
When it comes to stability, high-oleic sunflower
oil matches any of its partially hydrogenated rivals. For
this, it earned its place as a spray oil for baked foods
and snacks. But where this oil can really shine will be
reduced-trans applications.
"Trisun High-oleic sunflower oil is liquid at ambient temperatures," said Lynn
Lawrence, manager of technical services,
Humko Oil Products, Memphis, Tenn.
"If you're replacing a partially
hydrogenated liquid oil with
a liquid oil containing no trans
fats, there will likely be no major
formulating or processing issues. But when replacing a plastic or solid shortening, creaming
properties can be a hurdle."
One approach is to supplement the liquid oil with emulsifiers
that act like hard fats to accomplish
optimum creaming. Another is to
blend the liquid oil with hydrogenated fats. "Blending
maintains the plasticity but reduces the trans content
by one-half to two-thirds," said Dennis Tagarelli, Humko
Oil Products' national business director.
Typically, 30% of a conventional all-purpose shortshow good handling properties due
to the functional property of the
shortening's high-melting fraction
and the emulsifier.
In the final eating quality of the
product, the fat crystals provide
moist mouthfeel, and the liquid
or the low-melting fraction of the
shortening contributes tenderness to
the cake product.
Cookies and crackers. Most cookies and crackers require shortening
very similar to the cake-baking shortening. Emulsifiers, such as lecithin,
are used in certain formulations.
WHAT IS TRANS? Trans fats or trans
fatty acids are naturally present in
the fat of ruminating animals, in
human milk and in the milk of some
other animals. Much higher levels of
trans fat content are observed when
vegetable oil is hydrogenated.
A trans fat is an unsaturated fatty
acid, a geometric isomer of the natural
cis form. Trans isomers of unsaturated
fatty acids are actually formed on the
surface of the nickel catalyst during
hydrogenation. These unsaturated
62 / BAKING & SNACK / November 2003

ening produced by hydrogenation qualifies as trans
fat. In roll-in fats, the amount rises to 33%, while in
cake and icing shortenings, it decreases to 28%.
Liquid vegetable oils usually contain less than 1%
trans fat.
"You need not get to zero on trans in your shortenings. If you can achieve less than 0.5 g trans per serving in your finished product, that will be sufficient," Mr.
Lawrence said, citing Food and Drug Administration
labeling thresholds.
The two Humko managers described how crystals
of a fully hydrogenated fat could be suspended in
high-oleic oil to yield a fluidized shortening suited to
use in cookies, cakes and bread. The company follows
a strategy of using its large portfolio of source oils to
produce tailored shortening products. It is currently
working on a lower-trans version of all-purpose shortening. "Each bakery application represents a different
solution," Mr. Tagarelli observed.
The fatty acid profile is important. High-oleic
sunflower oil has 81% monounsaturates, the highest
level among oils used in food products. "Monos have
the effect of lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol without
affecting the HDL (good) cholesterol levels," said Mr.
Tagarelli, quoting from a 1999 advisory paper by the
American Heart Association.

fatty acids have higher melting points
and exhibit a sharp melting property
in shortening and margarine. It is important to recognize that some of the
fatty acid molecules that undergo hydrogenation will take the trans form;
most are in cis configuration.
Bakery shortenings and margarine could not be made from seed
oils without hydrogenation. All seed
oils are liquid at room temperature.
While liquid oils work well for some
products, such as bread, they are less
successful in others, such as cakes
or cookies. Therefore, they must be
hydrogenated to various degrees to
obtain the desired functional property in the product.
In recent years, trans fat has become a rallying cry in some circles.
Europe was ahead of the United
States in recognizing the potential
health implications of trans fats.
Canada's voluntary food labeling
system included trans fats from its
inception, and so will its new mandatory labeling program, due to go
into effect in January 2006.
On July 9, F.D.A. issued regulations

mandating disclosure of the trans fat
content of packaged foods. The new
rules were published in the Federal
Register of July 11 (Vol. 68, No. 133,
pages 41433-41506). Effective January 2006, all packaged food labels
must indicate the trans fat content of
the food. This ruling has prompted
various reduction and replacement
initiatives among American oil processors and food manufacturers.
TO INTERESTERIFY OR NOT. The
search for trans-free alternatives
renewed interest in interesterification. This process allows fully hydrogenated fat and liquid oil to react
under controlled conditions in the
presence of a chemical catalyst. This
exchanges the fatty acids from the
hard fat and the liquid oil, providing
a unique product. Interesterification
can also be accomplished via an
enzymatic process, which is gaining
popularity in this country because it
is environmentally friendly.
Leading oil processors, such as
ACH Humko, ADM, Bunge Corp.,
Cargill and Ventura Foods, now of-

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