Milling & Baking News - October 19, 2004 - 31

STEPAN

is separated into oleine (liquid) and
stearine (solid) fractions. The oleine is
prized in many countries as
a frying oil, and the stearine
may be used as a no-trans hard
fat. Palm kernel oil is another
source of saturated fatty acid
that has been used.
* Decholesterolized animal fats (lard, tallow) have a fairly high content of saturated
fatty acids. The public misperception of animal fat as "bad," however, probably mitigates against the use of these in no-trans
shortenings used in baking applications.
The fatty acid composition of the hard
fat used affects the healthfulness of the resultant no-trans shortening. Full hydrogenation of soy oil, for example, yields a hard
fat containing about 11% palmitic acid
and 89% stearic acid. Palm oil stearine,
on the other hand, may contain as much
as 50% palmitic acid and 5% stearic acid.
Palm kernel oil is a lauric fat, containing
70% C12, C14 and C16 acids. These factors
should be kept in mind because of the different effects on L.D.L. of various chainlength saturated fatty acids.
As indicated previously, high-oleic vegetable oils would be the oil of choice from a
stability standpoint, although many current
products use canola oil. During refining, some
cis-trans isomerization occurs, mainly during
the deodorization step, and a trans content of
0.5% to 1.5% generally is observed.

The body uses medium-chain triglycerides,
like those that compose Neobee M-5,
through a metabolic path different from typical long-chain fats.

Hard fat(s) is mixed with liquid oil, and
then this mixture is combined into a stable
shortening with the desired properties.
Two methods are used to accomplish this:
1 - blending and votating; or 2 - interesterification, either chemically or enzymatically catalyzed.
Blending and votating are how conventional shortenings are currently made.
Basestocks (hard fats plus liquid oil) are
melted together then plasticized by cooling in a swept-surface chilling apparatus.
Interesterification involves breaking and
reforming the bonds between the fatty acids
and their glycerol backbone. In natural fats,
the distribution of fatty acids between the
No. 1 and No. 3, or end, positions of glycerol
and the No. 2, or middle, position are specific. For example, in soy oil almost all the

High-mono, low-linoleic, high-stability
Already available to food service operators, a new canola naturally stable oil, trademarked Natreon
by Dow AgroSciences, Indianapolis, was introduced this summer to food processors interested in
decreasing trans and saturated fats. The company is working with major oil suppliers to distribute
the new oil to industrial markets. It may be used by itself or blended with other oils, including soy.
The payoff is trans-free formulations. For example, when used in soda crackers typically
made with 3.4 grams of fat per serving, analysis of conventionally formulated products reveals
0.8 grams saturated fat and 1 gram trans fat. When Natreon is used, the fat grams stay the same
at 3.4 grams, but saturated fat is decreased to 0.3 grams, and trans is all but eliminated at 0.1
grams, thus reducing saturated and trans fat by as much as 85%. Crackers formulated this way
qualify for labeling as "trans fat free."
"This is a very powerful profile," observed Pablo Ilarregui, oil channels manager for Dow
AgroSciences.
With more than 70% monounsaturated fats, the new oil is extremely stable and requires no
hydrogenation. Typical frying oils reach 25% polar component levels (signaling the discard
point) after 15 hours of use; Natreon is stable to 40 hours.
Although described as a novel oil, it looks and tastes like regular canola oil. Differences are
seen only when analyzed for its fatty acid profile.
The new oil comes from the Nexera high-oleic, low-linolenic canola seed. Developed by
Dow AgroSciences, it is a non-bioengineered crop. MBN
32 / Milling & Baking News, October 19, 2004

saturated acids are found in an end position.
During chemical interesterification, the
fatty acids are randomly distributed. This
changes the melting point properties of
the various triglycerides present. When the
mixture involves a hard fat and an oil, the
resulting random distribution involves both
the unsaturated fatty acids of the oil and the
saturated fatty acids of the hard fat.
Enzymatic interesterification may give a
different result, depending on the specificity of the lipase used. Some lipases react
only on the No. 1 and No. 3 positions, so
the fatty acids found on the No. 2 position
are left untouched. Other lipases react at all
three positions, and the result is akin to that
found with chemical catalysts. Enzymatic
reactions are normally carried out at temperatures much lower than the chemical
reaction, so there are fewer side products.
Interesterification tends to flatten the
S.F.C. curve of a fat. Blending may have
the same result, depending on the hard fats
and formula. Most of the currently offered
no-trans shortenings have a somewhat
flatter S.F.C. profile than the conventional
shortenings they are designed to replace.
This may be a technological advantage
because it broadens the plastic range of
the fat.
For certain applications, however, a
rather steep S.F.C. profile is needed, and
fractionation of the interesterified fat may
be required to achieve this characteristic.
Current tests indicate that no-trans shortening may have a slightly lower S.F.C.
curve than conventional shortening, but
it still performs well. Thorough testing of
the final product is recommended before
a switch is made. MBN
- Clyde E. Stauffer
bakingbusiness.com/world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com/world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - October 19, 2004

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