Baking&Snack - June 2011 - 58

OMEGA-3, -6, -9

enings offered by many shortening suppliers are ideally positioned to provide healthy alternatives to formulators. “Many of these new products are designed as drop-in solutions to comply with the new 2010 dietary guidelines,” said Kevin Miller, marketing communications manager, Loders Croklaan North America. The company developed SansTrans shortenings to lessen the need for extensive product reformulations when replacing trans fats. When altering formulations to use omega-3s, formulators must achieve the right proportion to support the benefits claimed. “Relatively few foods contain either of the two kinds of omega-3s most beneficial to heart health: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA),” said Michelle Braun, nutrition science group, Solae, LLC, St. Louis, MO. She cited significant dietary sources of these

fats to include fatty fish, fish oil and algal oil. Flaxseed, walnuts and vegetable oils contain ALA, a precursor to EPA and DHA. Introduction of Soymega, a soybean oil containing stearidonic acid (SDA), shows promise, especially for bakery products, according to Ms. Braun. “SDA is unique in that it converts to EPA in the body more efficiently than ALA,” she added. “There is a clear gap between current intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and the recommended levels that would optimize human nutrition and health,” Ms. Braun continued. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-06 data showed omega-3s made up only 9% of total intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids. “Soymega SDA soybean oil is a sustainable, plant-based source of heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids,” she noted.

▲ The solid fat characteristics of palm oil enable replacement of partially hydrogenated fats in sandwich cookie filling cremes, one of the most difficult such applications.
LODERS CROKLAAN

How to Make Popcorn Healthier
Americans love popcorn. It’s probably the whole grain they consume the most. For many, it’s the only whole grain they eat. But the health benefits of whole grains can be complicated by the oils needed for peak microwave popping and flavor performance. Ever since its invention, microwave popcorn relied on hydrogenated shortenings to carry oil-soluble flavors in a shelf-stable matrix. Yet such shortenings also contained trans fats. To replace hydrogenated fats, many popcorn manufacturers turned to palm oil, but that change increased the levels of saturated fats. Weaver Popcorn Co., Inc., Van Buren, IN, wanted something healthier. The family-owned-and-operated company, which handles about 30% of the world’s popcorn, adopted Omega-9 canola oil for its Pop Weaver brand and earned the first American Heart Association Health Check logo in the popcorn category. The change in oils also cut calories by 35% and fat by 50%. Weaver Popcorn collaborated with Dow AgroSciences, Indianapolis, IN, the company that developed Omega-9 canola oil based on its Nexera line. The popcorn manufacturer required that any new oil had to provide great taste, healthy profile and superior performance. “With most healthy snacks, you typically have to give up flavor, but our new microwave popcorn really is the best of all worlds,” said Mike Weaver, president and CEO. “Delivering the BAKING & SNACK / June 2011 same great taste, but with healthier ingredients, is the type of innovation our customers expect from Pop Weaver.” Weaver Popcorn emphasizes “Flavor First” in its product development approach, so conveying the rich, buttery taste for which Pop Weaver is known was a critical benchmark. In internal tests, evaluators perceived the new formula to have significantly better butter flavor than not only the current product but also competitive products. Consumer tests took place across the country with similar comments. The improved formulation entirely replaced the existing product line, offering healthier versions of the company’s signature flavors: Butter, Extra Butter and Light Butter. Chris Williams, R&D leader for Weaver Popcorn, named other benefits from the change. “Because the oil is low in viscosity, it doesn’t adhere to the bag,” he said. “Less can go farther.” Also, Omega-9 canola oil has a lower melting point than palm or soybean oil, so it spreads the butter flavor more evenly throughout the whole bag of popcorn. “The butter flavor really comes through.”

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Baking&Snack - June 2011

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