ARS | Publication request: FORMULATION, STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF COMMERCIAL SPREADS, A 1999 SURVEY

Submitted to: Oilseed Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: March 19, 2000
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Consumer demands for fewer calories, lowered trans acids' products, coupled with new labeling requirements, have impacted the margarine/spread industry over the past several decades, and nutritional, health, and functional properties will continue to be a focus in the future. Historically, formulation of margarine/spread oils has been primarily guided by the solid fat index/content and melting point of the hydrogenated components. Relatively little has been reported on the structures of triglycerides in hydrogenated fats. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was investigated for the separation and quantitation of triglycerides of unhydrogenated liquid oils and spread basestocks. Although the method will not resolve triglyceride positional isomers and trans isomers affect resolution, much information can be gained including melting points of individual triglycerides, determination of iodine values, triglyceride structures, and quality control. Applications of the HPLC method to these problems will be presented and the results discussed. Data are presented showing that the average trans acid content of soft tub spreads has been reduced by 55% over the period 1992-1999 and the trans content of stick products shows a 37% reduction over a 10-year period. Reductions in trans acids can be attributed to shifts from a multiple hydrogenated basestock system, use of more liquid oils, and, to a lesser extent, alternative oil processing techniques such as interesterification.