Baking&Snack - February 2017 - 77

FORMULATION
Fats & Oils

A CHANGING

WORLD

Base oils and their production methods continue
to evolve as consumers seek baked goods
made with healthful ingredients.

by Donna Berry

Consumers' quest for simple, minimally processed and
sustainably produced foods and ingredients poses many
challenges for commercial bakers who must also consider economics in their operations. This is particularly
true when selecting fats and oils, also known as lipids,
because they vary significantly in their performance,
sourcing and overall appeal.
Fat is a necessary ingredient in many baked goods,
and never have there been so many options available
to bakers. It is important for bakers to understand their
choices to best identify the lipid that meets a product's
quality, shelf life and nutrition requirements as well as
market positioning. The latter is increasingly trending
to the health-and-wellness demographic, a group who
knows their fats.
"We have experienced an increasing number of customers beginning to label and reformulate products to
meet the demand for healthier, non-genetically modified and natural foods," said Jennifer Tesch, chief marketing officer, Healthy Food Ingredients.
Research shows that, after sugar, fat is the secondmost important ingredient that North American consumers monitor on food product labels, according to
Cargill's FATitudes primary research on consumers'
perspective of fats and oils in North America. The study
showed that the type of fat and its claim may impact the
likelihood of purchase.

"We know from FATitudes that 67% of consumers are
checking for saturated fat in the products they buy," said
Mark Christiansen, managing director, Cargill global
edible oil solutions, global specialties. "About 50% of all
consumers are likely to purchase a product with a 'no
saturates' claim."
Many suppliers are making progress lowering specialty oils' saturated fat content and in their efforts to
find suitable replacements for partially hydrogenated
oils (PHOs). As the largest source of artificial trans-fatty
acids in the American diet, PHOs were stripped of their
Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status by the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They must be removed from the food supply by June 18, 2018. After this
date, no PHOs can be added to human food unless they
are otherwise approved by FDA.
"As our industry transitions to the regulated removal
of PHOs from the food formulators' toolbox, baking and
snack providers are in need of fat and oil solutions to
overcome functionality challenges," said Terry Thomas,
president, AAK USA, Inc.
Although solid animal fats are often the best functional choice for many baked goods because they are
highly stable and flavorful, their use is a deterrent to
vegans. For some consumers, the high concentration of
saturated fatty acids in butter and lard is unappealing,
and bakers find their variable price to be unwelcome.

Although just recently
commercialized, high-oleic
oils have rapidly expanded
in crop size, projected to be
400 million lb this year and
9.3 billion lb by 2024.
Qualisoy

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Baking&Snack - February 2017

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