Loders Croklaan highlighted that the food industry is under renewed pressure to remove trans fat from its products, as states and local governments, retailers and certain market segments are demanding complete elimination of artificial trans fat, as a growing body of research has linked it to increased risk of heart disease. In particular, it cited Walmart’s January announcement that it intends to eliminate all remaining artificial trans fats from packaged food products.
And the recently released Dietary Guidelines for Americans have also recommended that Americans eat as little artificial trans fat as possible.
The new shortenings are SansTrans VLS 30, designed to offer a 30 percent reduction in saturated fat without increasing cost, and SansTrans VLS 40 emulsified shortening, intended to reduce saturated fat by up to 15 percent, while also decreasing shortening cost by up to 10 percent a year. Both shortenings are designed for use in cookie, cake, and muffin applications, the company said.
Vice president of R&D at Loders Croklaan Dr. Gerald McNeill said: “The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans states that trans fatty acid consumption should be as low as possible and to try to avoid foods that contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Although saturated fat is a healthy alternative to trans fats where a solid fat is needed for functionality, SansTrans VLS 30 and 40 offer the user a further benefit of lower saturated fat and reduced annual shortening cost.”
The company said that the new shortenings allow companies to cut total calories from fat and total fat on nutrition labels, both of which are “key attributes when formulating products to meet today’s governmental Dietary Guidelines.”