Dr. Louis Thörig, global communications manager for Loders Croklaan, calls for truly trans fat-free solutions for food manufacturers
Worldwide the food industry is moving towards healthier products and the types of fats consumed are under scrutiny. Fats are a major energy source for the body and have both nutritional value and functionality in applications.
In 2003 the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended we lower our trans-fat intake and now the health-conscious nutritionally-aware consumer is, increasingly, choosing not to buy products which contain trans fats. Subsequently a growing number of European food manufacturers are demanding ingredients which contain zero or less trans fats.
The debate about the intake of trans fats and cardiovascular disease (CVD) began when Willett and co-workers published an article in The Lancet, 1993. Scientific publications indicate that trans fats raise serum levels of the so-called ‘bad’ LDL-cholesterol and reduce levels of the ‘good’ HDL-cholesterol that increases the risk for CVD. However, trans fats are attractive for the food industry due to their shelf life and flavour stability and have displaced natural solid fats and liquid oils in many areas of food processing. In Denmark there is a legislative ban on industrially produced trans fats in foods but the consumption of animal trans fats, present in dairy products, have in my opinion been wrongly kept outside the present debate. Although sentiment initially turned against hydrogenation and trans fats in Western Europe, followed by the USA, it is spreading now throughout the world.
As a result in several countries mandatory trans-fats labelling of pre-packaged food and industrial initiatives have been introduced to lower the content of industrial trans fats in foods. Meanwhile animal fats contain between 3-7% natural trans fats. Trans fats from dairy origin are not considered when dairy fat is the only fat source in the product.
The difference between animal and industrial trans fats has been debated for some years and the claim that animal trans fats do not carry the same risk to CVD as industrial trans fats is, in my opinion, a wrong conclusion.
Recently published scientific studies do not give reason to suppose that a distinction should be made between animal and industrial trans fats and suggest that both sources of trans fats have a negative effect on blood lipids. FEDIOL, representing the EU Oil and Proteinmeal Industry, supports the trans fat definition given by European Foods Safety Authority (EFSA) in September 2004 that includes both industrial and animal trans fats. FEDIOL supports the approach that trans fats are labelled, irrespective of their origin animal or industrial. Unfortunately universal nutrition labelling for animal and industrial trans fats is still not the case.
The global oils and fats industry and the food manufacturers have made great progress in replacing hydrogenated oils and trans fats with non-hydrogenated alternatives. In some instances this has resulted in an increase in saturated fats in order to maintain product functionality. There is, however, a question mark about saturates particularly in relation to an increased risk of CVD. Saturates may also contribute to CVD but not all saturates behave in the same way. There is a general consensus that long-chain saturates, such as palmitic and stearic acids, are less detrimental than the shorter chain saturates, such as lauric and myristic acids, to blood cholesterol levels.
Only a non-hydrogenated, effectively trans-free system will, in the long-term, be acceptable to the market since many consumers now make the link between ‘hydrogenation’ and ‘trans’. To have simply reduced the trans level to, say, 10% or 15% would have meant a product with a ‘hydrogenated’ label which would be unacceptable in many markets. According to Datamonitor’s analysts, the top five product categories that are actively reducing trans fats are sweet biscuits, potato crisps, snack bars, savoury snacks and meal solutions.
In this context the recently developed zero-trans COUVA 850 NH from IOI Loders Croklaan is a breakthrough for confectionery and bakery manufacturers. COUVA 850 NH is a next generation cocoa butter replacer (CBR) that has been developed mainly for enrobing applications and was nominated for the FI Europe Award 2007.
Dr. Louis Thörig is a member of the Fi Strategic Advisory Board, and the views expressed in the text are solely those of the author. |
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