Milling & Baking News - May 20, 2008 - 22

Food Ingredient Solutions

Simply put: Make it healthy
Keep saturated fats in mind when reducing trans fat in products.

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

fat, not surprisingly, with trans fat
following close behind," Mr. McNeill
said. "By the fourth survey, trans fat
awareness had increased significantly and had exceeded the awareness
level of saturated fat."
Grain-based foods continue to lead
the trans-fat-free trend. There were 342
savory/salty snacks with low-, no- or
reduced-trans-fat claims launched as
new products in the United States in
2007, according to the Mintel Global
New Products Database. Other grainbased food introductions with transfat claims included sweet biscuits/
cookies at 133; snack/cereal/energy
bars at 114; bread and bread products
at 95; cakes, pastries and sweet goods
at 90; baking ingredients and mixes at
79; and cold cereal at 58.
Customer requests to keep saturated fats in check, or even reduce them,
when creating trans-fat-free products
have ramped up in the past six months,
said Lynne Morehart, technical service
manager, Cargill, Minneapolis. Canadian regulations may have had an influence, added Scott Erickson, marketing manager, Cargill. For a product to
be listed as trans-fat free in Canada, it
must contain 0.2 grams or less of trans
fat and 2 grams or less of saturated

and trans fats combined per serving.
For a product to be listed as trans-fat
free under Food and Drug Administration regulations, it must contain 0.5
grams or less per serving.
The American Heart Association
recommends consumers keep their
daily trans fat intake under 1% of
their overall energy intake and their
daily saturated fat consumption
under 7%.
Reducing both trans and saturated
fats in different categories takes time
for each application, Ms. Morehart
said. For example, within the donut
category, some are eaten fresh, others
are frozen and reconstituted at store
level, and some donuts need a fourweek shelf life. The longer the shelf
life, the more time fat is able to migrate
in different ways.
"Within the different categories, solutions are very difficult to address,"
Ms. Morehart said. "One solution does
not fit all."
Certain applications are easier
than others, said Tom Tiffany, senior
ᮢ The longer the shelf life of donuts, the
more time fat has to migrate in different
ways.

CARGILL

ou may tell consumers about
the reduced amount of trans
and saturated fats in your grainbased food products. You may educate
them on the traits of the oils used, be
they from palm, soybean, canola, sunflowerseed or cottonseed. But above
all else, remember consumers want to
hear about healthier oils.
"The current market objective obviously is zero trans, and behind that is
a push for lesser saturates," said Frank
Stynes, senior vice-president of industrial sales, Ventura Foods, L.L.C., Brea,
Calif. "Beyond that, customers are
looking for healthier oils.
"Fats perform so many vital functions within formulation: They transport flavor easily, enhance flavor and
provide structure and texture, among
other things. The truth is we're not going to live without them, so the goal is
to live with them in a more healthful
manner. And our corporate responsibility is to provide customers with
a wide range of healthier, yet highly
functional, fats and oils that provide
the performance and quality those
customers need."
According to the International Food
Information Council Foundation's
2007 Food and Health Survey, 72%
of Americans indicated they are concerned about both the amount and
types of fats they consumed compared
with 66% the year before. The 2007
survey revealed 75% were trying to decrease their consumption of trans fat,
compared with 54% the year before,
and 70% were trying to decrease their
consumption of saturated fats, up 13%
from the previous year. Awareness of
trans fat was 87% in 2007, up from
81% in 2006. Awareness of saturated
fat was 88%, down from 91%.
Consumer surveys carried out by
Loders Croklaan, Channahon, Ill.,
during the past four years also show
an increasing awareness of trans fats,
said Gerald P. McNeill, Ph.D., vicepresident of research and development.
"Our first survey showed strong
consumer awareness of saturated

Milling & Baking News

May 20, 2008 / 23

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Milling & Baking News - May 20, 2008

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