Baking & Snack - March 2010 - 52

FATS & OILS

Real World Omega-3s
In mid-February, Sara Lee North American Fresh Bakery
Products put into national distribution its Soft & Smooth
Plus Bread containing life'sDHA brand omega-3 fatty acids
from Martek Biosciences, Columbia, MD. The 100% wholewheat bread contains long-chain, omega-3 fatty acids in
the form of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) derived from
microalgae, a vegetarian source.
When it comes to health-and-wellness formulating, omega-3 fatty acids offer many benefits. DHA, for
example, serves as a primary building block for the brain
and eyes, supporting brain, eye and cardiovascular health
throughout life, according to Joe Burton, vice-president of
sales and marketing for Martek.
"Omega-3 fatty acids as ingredients have been used for
hundreds of years, before we ever knew what it was," said
Ron Wheelwright, senior account manager, functional
foods, Denomega Nutritional Oils, Boulder, CO, citing
Scandinavian dietary habits. "Cognitive health, antiinflammatory effects - the health benefits are widely
varied. The omega-3 fatty acids are supported by more
than 8,000 scientific studies. Their science is
very deep."
The bread application demonstrates one of two
schools of thought about using omega-3s, Mr. Wheelwright explained. "One is that moderate doses of
omega-3 fats should be in everyday foods such as toast
and sandwiches. The second is that products like muffins
can provide higher doses."
A single muffin can carry as much as 500 mg of DHA
and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). "There's a cookie
already on the market in Canada, and
certainly nutrition bars are an excellent
fit," he observed.
Denomega offers a number of
omega-3 products suitable
for bakery applications.
◀ Muffins can be formulated to provide 500 mg
of omega-3 fatty acids
per serving.

Omega-360 Pure 22, for example, fits uses where a high
dose is desired. It provides both DHA and EPA. While
many products are made with 16 to 32 mg omega-3 per
serving, this taste-and-odor-free oil has been incorporated into baked foods at levels as high as 500 mg omega-3
per serving. The high omega-3 content of the oil makes
it the lowest cost-in-use form of omega-3, according to
Mr. Wheelwright.
The company also produces a blend, Omega 360
PureMix, of marine omega-3 oil and canola oil, specifically designed for use in bakeries. It can stand at room
temperature for an extended period of time. If a powder
is preferred, Omega Classic Dry ST microencapsulates the
oil. While this technique lowers the active content
of omega-3, this style is a good option for many baked
food applications.
Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is another omega-3 of interest in bakery applications. Mother Nature made flaxseed
not only high in oil at 48% of the total seed but also high
in ALA at 55% of the oil in the seed. "Flaxseed can be used
to give health-and-wellness benefits," said Marilyn Stieve,
business development manager, flaxseed, Glanbia Nutritionals, Monroe, WI. "And because it is so high in oil, bakers
can reduce some of the total fat in the system."
Working with flaxseed, Glanbia researchers report that
it fits well in bakery applications including breads, tortillas,
cakes, cookies and more because it has a grain-like consistency. Ms. Stieve pointed out its hydrocolloid properties
that make the food moister to eat. "But the big driver of
applications for flaxseed is its omega-3 content," she said.
In the US, Food and Drug Administration regulations
permit packaging claims of "good" source of omega-3
ALA claims when flaxseed is present at 0.65 g per serving,
and "excellent" source claims are allowed when 1.3 g of
flaxseed are available per serving.
Mr. Wheelwright described storage needs for omega-3
oils, which oxidize more rapidly than other oils. Denomega warehouses its oils frozen. "They should be allowed
to thaw in a refrigerator prior to use," he said. "Once
thawed, they can be treated as typical oils used in baked
goods. In fact, if other oils are used, they can be blended
together before being added."

THE CASE FOR BLENDING. That's where palm oil
comes in: It is one of the few vegetable oils with significant plasticity at room temperature. It carries 52% saturated fats but can be blended with other liquid oils, thus
cutting overall "sat" levels while vastly improving functionality. (The other vegetable oils high in saturates are
palm kernel oil at 81% and coconut oil at 91%.)

BAKING & SNACK / March 2010

"AAK has a rather complete line of no-trans, no-hydro
products in the Cisao line," Mr. Fine said. "And we also produce the Essence line, which has all three attributes: no-trans,
no-hydro, low-sat." Essence shortenings blend liquid oils with
hard stock, consisting of palm oil. They get their functionality
from the palm oil, and the amount of liquid oil dials down the
saturated fat level. Mr. Fine observed that this method yields

Baking & Snack - March 2010

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