Baking & Snack - October 2022 - 51

FORMULATION
Fats & Oils
turning on a
Pricing, weather and war are impacting the most stable fats and oils available
to bakers, leaving the industry looking for temporary replacements.
by Charlotte Atchley
T
There have been so many disruptions to ingredient supply
chains that have affected the baker's ability to rely on standby
ingredients, whether its minor ingredients like emulsifiers
or major ones like flour. Even fats and oils have been
hard to come by.
" COVID, the war in Ukraine and relentless supply chain
delays and challenges have put a strain on all raw materials, "
said Abigail Ceule, senior director, ingredient solutions,
Corbion. " With oils, specifically, we're seeing challenges
with palm oil as well as alternative oils. "
Unfortunately, the oils most affected - palm and higholeic
- provide much of the functionality the baking industry
lost when partially hydrogenated oils lost their
GRAS status in 2015. As bakers struggle with lack of supply
and high prices, they may be looking to pivot to other
fats and oils as a temporary or permanent solution. But care
must be taken to ensure finished product characteristics are
still delivered, which will require reformulating and maybe
an assist from additional ingredients.
What's the problem?
As Ms. Ceule pointed out, the supply chain for raw materials
is strained and that includes the oils that provide the
basis of many fats and oils. A perfect storm of weakened
supply chains, war and weather issues has created a challenging
situation.
" Indonesia, which accounts for more than half of the
global palm oil supply has banned exports at times to retain
supply in country, " she said. " Large supplies of alternative
oils, including soy and canola oil, are not always readily
availability either after droughts hurt the most recent crops
in Argentina, Brazil and Canada. "
Even fall crop conditions in the United States have been
on a steady decline, she pointed out, due to the hot and dry
weather this summer.
Together Ukraine and Russia account for about 75% of
the world supply of high-oleic sunflower oil, said David
Johnson, PhD, product director of food protection, Kalsec,
a tap that had been turned off due to Ukraine's ports being
closed and sanctions against Russia. Deals between Russia,
Turkey and Ukraine to reopen Ukraine's ports have eased
this burden some and provided some muted optimism.
" Just because we see grain leaving Ukraine doesn't mean
that suddenly the floodgates of supply will be open, " Dr.
Johnson explained. " That situation is still tenuous, and it
will take time for us to see the impact of that grain leaving
Ukraine. Everything has to trickle down. "
On top of war affecting the supply of high-oleic sunflower
oil, a bad crop year in 2021 has impacted higholeic
canola. While the soybean crop has been robust, not
much of that has been devoted to growing high-oleic soy,
so high-oleic products are in scarce supply.
" Having a robust high-oleic soybean supply is a two-year
process, and the buyers didn't commit to buying high-oleic
www.bakingbusiness.com / October 2022 Baking & Snack 51
When reformulating
with shortening
and oil ingredients,
bakers need to
work closely with
suppliers to ensure
texture, taste and
mouthfeel are met.
AAK USA
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Baking & Snack - October 2022

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