Liquid margarine aligns with EU saturated fat recommendations, says DuPont

29-Sep-2013 - Last updated on 30-Sep-2013 at 16:17 GMT

Manufacturers can cut the saturated fat content of cakes from 35% to 15% using DuPont's liquid margarine

European recommendations to reduce and label saturated fats have prompted DuPont to develop a liquid margarine with 60% less saturated fat for use in cakes.

The ingredient firm’s liquid margarine has the same overall fat content as regular margarine, but 60% less saturated fat – a fat that is becoming increasingly important for manufacturers given the upcoming European mandatory labelling requirements, DuPont says.

“The trend of low, no or reduced saturated fat claims will continue in the coming years as saturated fat content will become a mandatory label information piece to declare, according to the latest European regulation on nutritional declarations,” said Chloe des Courtis, marketing specialist for DuPont Nutrition & Health.

“This trend has a greater important and relevance for cake producers as generally recipes contain a higher fat content,” Des Courtis told BakeryandSnacks.com.

Consumers care too…

She also said that consumers are becoming more and more concerned about nutrition and health in light of the increasing level of diseases related to diet and lifestyle.

“Fat, especially saturated fat and trans fat, are under consumer scrutiny as they are recognized as unhealthy. And that’s the reason why the improvement of nutritional profiles is supported by numerous governments in Europe,” she said.

Tanvi Savara, associate analyst at Datamonitor Consumer, recently told this publication that consumer awareness on different fats was increasing as consumer understanding on nutrition has become more sophisticated. “It’s not just interest in the amount of fat consumed, but the type of fat,” she said.

60% less saturated fat, but stable

DuPont’s liquid margarine took the company ten months to develop – the main challenge being to ensure a stable, liquid product that wouldn’t separate.

“You need to create a stable crystal network which keeps the liquid oil in a stable suspension. To do this you need a special structurant emulsifier that can hold the liquid oil in place,” explained Brian Sehested, application specialist for oils & fats at DuPont Nutrition & Health.

DuPont has used its Grindsted ingredients mix – a blend of mono- and triglycerides – to enable the structuring of the fat phase in the margarine.

Cake makers can reduce the saturated fat content of their products from 35% down to 15%, Sehested said.

Asked if there was work to reduce the saturated levels further, he said DuPont is “always investigating new possibilities” but added that for stage one, 60% was already a significant reduction.