CA1136482A

CA1136482A - Edible fat product ii

Info

Publication number: CA1136482A
Application number: CA000354377A
Authority: CA
Inventors: John Ward
Original assignee: Nabisco Brands Ltd
Current assignee: Conagra Brands Inc
Priority date: 1980-06-19
Filing date: 1980-06-19
Publication date: 1982-11-30
Also published as: FI811924L; BE889290A; JPS5725395A; AU7199281A; GB2081293A; SE8103866L; DK271281A; FI68755B; ZA814168B; SE450681B; FI68755C; MX6134E; NL8102978A; FR2484789A1; IT8122416A0; ES8300248A1; IT1137090B; ES503230A0; FR2484789B1; GB2081293B

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

Stick and pat margarines as well as blends and spreads, are formed from a unique blend of a vegetable oil, such as, sunflower oil, with varying proportions from about 20 to about wt.% of a hardstock preferably formed by interesterification of saturated babassu nut oil and saturated palm oil. The blend of vegetable oil and hardstock is high in polyunsaturates and has a low-trans-isomer fatty acid content.

Description

~13f~82 EDIBLE FAT PKODUCT II

The present invention relates to edible fat products, particularly to edible fat products suitable for formation into stick margarines.
Table margarines generally have been produced by emulsification of blends of liquid unsaturated vegetable oils with hydrogenated hardstock in varying proportions depending on the consistency of product desired. A margarine product is - t required to have certain flow characteristics while resisting free oil separation and yet should be rapidly melting on the tongue. The hydrogenation reguired to form a hardstock which can~ provide such characteristics ~also leads to residual unsaturation which is in trans-isomeric forms of the mono-and poly-unsaturates. Such trans-isomeric forms of fatty acid in the diet are the center of much s~cientific controversy and the subject of on-going research to determine what role, if any, they;play in dietary health.
In accordance with the present invention, a specific hardstock has been found which alleviates this concern, while at the same time is suitable for the formulation of edible fat products for use in the production of margarines which are substantially free of trans-isomers. The invention, in its `~

113&;4~32 broad aspects, provides a process for forming a low-trans-isomer-containing fat product, which comprises:
preparing a randomly interesterified mixture of saturated babassu nut oil having an iodine value of less than 2.0, and a secona saturated edible oil ha~ing an iodine value of less than 2.0, the mixture comprising said saturated babassu nut oil and said saturated second oil in the weight proportions of 75:25 to about 40:60, the interesterified mixture resulting in a hardstock having an SFI solids content of at least about 30%
at 92F (as determined by the AOCS SFI method); and blending said hardstock with a liquid vegetable oil in proportions such that the resulting-blend contains from about 20% to about 30%
by weight of said hardstock.
While it is impractical commercially to prepare a product having absolutely no determinable trans-isomer content, the present invention contemplates those products where the trans-isomer content is substantially eliminated. Preferred products are made under suitable controls to assure a trans-isomer content of less than 1%. The term "low-trans-isomer-content~ is thus defined accordingiy. The trans-isomer content is determined by infra-red spectrophotometry according to the oficial method of the American Oil Chemists A Association (AOCS) designated Cd-~6-61.
The term "fat" as used herein is intended to include all edible, fatty acid triglycerides regardless of origin or whether they are solid or liquid at room te~peratu~e. Thus, the term "fat" includes normally liquid and normally solid vegetable and animal fats and oils. ~here the tarm "oil n is employed herein, it is intended to refer to those fats ~hich are normally liquid in their unmodified state.

113~4~3Z

The hardstock which is utilized in the present invention is a randomly interesterified mixture of saturated babassu nut oil and a saturated second oil in proportions by weight of about 75:25 to about 40:60, preferably from about 75:25 to about 60.40. These oils must be saturated, having iodine values of less than 2Ø Suitable.saturated fats may be obtained by hydrogenating, either in admixture or separately, or by fractionating a suitable fat. The interesterification is effected at an elevated temperature and under vacuum in the presence of a suitable catalyst to form a product having a solids content of not less than about 30% at 92F (as determined by the AOCS SFI method) and preferably a Wiley melting point of about 108F to 120F. Preferably, the solids content at 92~F will not be less than about 35%, and the Wiley lS melting point will be within the range of from 108 to 113F.
Co~pletion of the interesterification reaction usually is determined~by a 10F lowering of the melt point of the product as compared to the mixture prior to 1nteresterification.
: ; It is .also possible to for~ the hardstock by first : 20 interesterifying the specified oils and then hydrogenating to ; the required degree of saturation. The latter procedure, - however, is less pre~erred since completion of the interesterification iu less susceptible to precise determination than in the case when the interesterification i9 effected after saturation of materials.
.~ Essential to the present invention i5 the use as starting material of babassu nut oil, i.e., the oil from the babassu nut Attalea funifera or its equivalent fatty acid composition.

~ , ` 1~3fi4l3'~

Such equivalent fatty acid composition can be obtained by fractionation o~ other lauric oils. The use of babassu nut oil or equivalent material results in a hardstoc~ which enables margarines of varying consistencies and yet acceptable properties to be provided while at the same time permits the use of conventional processing, packaging, and equipment.
Also essential to the present invention is the use as a starting material of a second edible oil saturated to an iodine value of less than 2.0 which preferably has a melting point of from about 55 to about 60C. This second oil is interesterified with the saturated babassu nut oil, resulting in a hardstock which contains no residual trans-unsaturation.
It is within the scope of the invention to utilize suitable animal and vegetable fats which are Saturated to have iodine values of less than 2.0 with preferable melting points of between about 55 and 60C. These materials will provide a desirable range of physical properties and be free of trans-unsaturation. Among the suitable fats are those of - animal and vegetable origin which are capable of providing these properties when saturated, but in their natural state, prior to any hydrogenation, exhibit iodine values of less than about 60, prefera~ly less than about 50.
Blendæ or fractions of vegetable fats inclnding palm oil, and coconut oil; and animal fats snch as tallow, can be employed where they meet the above criteria. The preferred vegetable fat according to the invention comprises palm oil, and the preferred animal fat comprises tallow.
The req~isite low-trans fat of the present invention is not achieved when the second edible oil co~prises an unsaturated oil such as rapeseed oil [Canola oil], cottonseed , . . .
.

1136~Z

oil, soyabean oil or a highly unsaturated fraction of these or other fats. When such fats are employed and the hydrogenation is continued to the point necessary to yield the melting point range of 55 to 60C, trans-isomer contents detectable in amounts signiicantly greater than 1~ remain. And, where hydrogenation is effected to result in saturation with a correspondingly higher melting point, the interesterification product is incapable of providing an edible fat product having the preferred SFI values.
In the market place, margarines are generally sold as one of two principal types, namely, print, hard or stick margarine and soft or tub margarine. Hard or stick margarine would have a firmness consistent with a penetration range of 65 to 120 being in units of 0.1 mm using an A5TM grease cone at 45F.
Soft or tub margarine would have a firmness consistent with a penetration range of 130 to 210 being in units of 0.1 mm using an ASTM grease cone at 4SF. ~ Lesser amounts of margarine are sold in a form so soft that it is fluid, being at least capable of being squeezed Prom a flexible container. ~he present invention is directed to the production of edible Pat - products suitable for printing into sticks or forming pats. It is also within the conte~plation of the invention that the fat products of the lnvention can be employed in the preparation of calorie-reduced mar~arine (diet mar~arine), industrial 25 shortenings, blends with dairy products and spreads containing less than 80~ fat.
The SFI solids values re~uired for an edible fat product to be used in a stick margarine are a minimum solids content of 12% at 50F, a minimum solids content oP 7~ at 70F and a maximum solids content oP 4%, preferably less than 3%, at - ' ' -` il3~48Z

92F. ~lost preferably, the ~a~imum solids content at 92F
will be about 2%. At this specification, the margarine ~ay be formed and wrapped satisfactorily, maintains its stick form without substantial oil separation at room temperature and yet remains rapid melting on the tongue at about 96F. Such a product may be formulated, in accordance with this invention, from an edible fat product which is a blend of liquid unsaturated vegetable oils and the hardstock containing about 20 to about 30 wt.~ of the hardstock, preferably fram about 21 to about 24 wt.~.
It has previously been suggested in United States Patent No. 3,617,308 to usé, in the formulation of margarines, a randomly interesterified product of a mixture of fully hardened palm kernel oil and a fully hardened vegetable-oil, such as palm oil, rapeseed oil lCanola oil], cottonseed oil, or soyabean oil. The blends of the resulting hardstock liquid vegetable oil contain 8 to 15 wt.%, preferably 8 to ~2 wt.~, of the hardstock. One key starting material in that patent is palm kernel oil, i.e., the oil from the kernel of the palm fruit Elaeis guineensis, a quite different starting material from that used in this invention, where babassu nut oil is used. This patent is not aoncerned with the production of a low-trans-isomer-content fat, and in fact of the various hardened vegetable oils which ma~ be used to form the interesterification produ~t, only palm oil is suitable for forming a product having no trans-unsaturation. The soyabean oil, rapeseed oil [Canola oill and cottonseed oil when hardened to only 55C, the low end of the slip-point range set .

" 113~Z

forth in the Patent, contain detectable amounts of trans-isomers. In addition, the margarines preferably contain a maximum concentration of hardstock of 12 wt.% which produces an extremely soft margarine incapable of being formed into a stick or pat. There is no disclosure of a farmulation suitable for use in a stick margarine.
The ability to formulate an edible fat product containing up to 80 wt.~ of liquid vegetable oil enables high levels of polyunsaturates to be attained in stick and pat formulations in this invention. In general, higher polyunsaturate~levels in the margarine may be attained than in conventionally-for~ulated margarines, and, at the same time, trans-unsaturated isomers are absent from the product.
A wide variety of edible liquid vegetable oils may be used in formulating the edible fat product from the interesterified hardstock, including safflower oil, sunflower oil, soyabean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, rapeseed oil [Canola oill, peanut oil, linseed oil, wheat germ oil. The liquid vegetable oils most suitable have a ratio of polyunsaturates to saturates (P/S) of greater than 2:1.
The fat blends provided in accordance with this invention may be emulsified to ~oxm margarines in conventional manner, as well as to form blends and spreads. Typically, the edible fat product is emulsified with an aqueous phase at an elevated temperature at which the fat product is liquid and then subjected to rapid chilling. This procedure may be effected using apparatus of conventional kind co~prising one or more scraped surface tubular heat exchangers, for instance, "Votator~ apparatus, wherein the emulsion is work~d up to ~orm `` 113~4~2 a water-in-oil emulsion of suitable consistency for spreading~
The super-cooled emulsion is formed into sticks and pats.
If desired, the initial liquid fat mixture may be - subjected to a crystallizing step, either before or ~fter emulsi~ication or, before the final chilling step, and further crystalli~ation may be effected, for example, in resting or working units, such as Votator B-units or whipping units, before filling or forming the plastic emulsion into prints or pats. Additionally, the plastic emulsion may be worked mechanically between the resting or working units and the filling or forming device.
The invention is illustrated further by the following examples:

Example 1 This example illustrates the formation of low-trans-isomer-content hardstock from babassu nut oil and palm oil for use in products according to the invention.
Babassu nut oil was hydrogenated at 300F using a suspension of 0.2% nickel catalyst (26% Ni~ based on the oil to an iodine value of less than 2.0 to form a saturat~d prodcut of melting point 113F (45C). Palm oil wa9 similarly hydrogenated using nickel catalyst to an iodine value of less than 2.0 to form a saturated product of melting point 140F
(60C). The hydrogenated materials were filtered to remove -the nickel.
The resulting saturated babassu nut oil ahd saturated palm oil were mixed in the weight proportion of 70:30 and steam stripped to decrease the free fatty acid content below about 0.03 wt.%. Under a high vacuum of 2 to 3 mm Hg, the --` 113~i4~32 mixture was heated at 250F in the presence of 0.05% sodium methoxide catalyst under agitation for 15 minutes. A sample of product was analysed to confirm that the interesterifi-cation was complete, as determined by a 10F lowering of the melt point of the product as compared to the mixture prior to interesterification.
The te~pexature was then decreased to 180F and 0.4 wt.~
of a 30~ aqueous solution of magnesium sulphate in hot water was added to destroy residual catalyst. The temperature was then raised to 210F and 1% bleaching earth was added to bleach the product. Thereafter, the interesterified material is cooled and filtered.
The hardstock product produced was found to have an SFI
solids value of 36.0~ at 92F and a Miley melting point of 109.0F. In addition, the hardstock product was found to contain no trans-isomeric forms, as determined by infra-red spe~trophotometry.

Example 2 This example shows the blending of the hardstock of Example 1 with a liquid vegetable oil and the ~oxmation of low-trans-isomer-cont~nt stick margarine from the ~lend.
The hardstock formed according to Example 1 was blended with sunflower oil to form a blend containing 23% by weight of the hardstock. The resulting blend had an unsaturates to saturates ratio of 1.8:1 [55% polyunsaturates to 30% saturates based on the total weight of the fat], and exhibited ~he following SFI solids values:

113~132 13.9% at 50F
9.1% at 70F

2.4% at 92F

The blend was combined with an aqueous phase and A5 processed through conventional "Votator" A units and wor ~ B
unit to form a water-in-oil emulsion which is forwarded to a print former and a wrapping machine to provide a stick margarine. The resulting margarine spread readily, did not exhibit oil separation during processing or subsequently at room temperature, and had good mouth break. In addition, it compared favorably to conventional stick ~argarine both in shaping and wrapping characteristics. m e margarine had a penetration of 95, being in units of 0.1 mm using an ASTM
grease cone at 45F.
,~

Example 3 This example shows the formation of a low-trans-is~er~
content hardstock formed in similar manner to example 1 but in the weight proportion of 70% saturated babassu nut oil and 30%
; saturated tallow which is subsequently interesterified. The hardstock product produced was ~ound to have an SFI solid3 value of 36.7% at 92F and a Wiley melt point of 110F.
In summary o~ this disclosure, the present invention provides an edible low-trans-isomer-content fat product which may be used in stick and pat margarine production.
Modifications are possible within the scope of the invqntion.
~.

.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A process of forming a low-trans-isomer-containing edible fat product, which comprises:
preparing a randomly interesterified mixture of saturated babassu nut oil having an iodine value of less than 2.0 and a second saturated edible oil having an iodine value of less than 2.0, the mixture comprising said babassu nut oil and said second oil in the weight proportions of about 75:25 to about-40:60, the interesterified mixture resulting in a hardstock having an SFI solids content of at least about 30% at 92°F, and, blending said hardstock product with a liquid vegetable oil in proportions such that the resulting blend contains about 20% to about 30% by weight of said hardstock.
2. . The process of claim l wherein said second oil has a melt point of from 55° to 60°C.
3. The process of c1aim 1 wherein said hardstock has a Wiley melting point of above 108° to about 120°F.
4. The process of claim l wherein said hardstock and said liquid vegetable oil are blended in such proportions that the resulting blend exhibits SFI solids contents of at least l2%
at 50°F, at least 7% at 70°F and a maximUm of 3% at 92°F.
5. The process of claim 4 wherein said hardstock has an SFI
solids content of at least about 35% at 92°F.
6. The process of claim 5 wherein said blend contains from about 21 to 24% by weight of said hardstock.
7. The process of claim 1 wherein the saturated babassu nut oil is prepared by hydrogenation.
8. The process of claim 1 wherein the saturated babassu nut oil is obtained by fractionation of babassu nut oil and/or the fractionation of fatty-acid components similar to babassu nut oil from lauric oils.
9. The process of claim 1 wherein the saturated second oil is prepared by hydrogenation.
10. The process of claim 1 wherein said second oil comprises a fat of vegetable or animal origin which prior to any hydrogenation exhibits an iodine value of less than about 60.
11. The process of claim 10 wherein said second oil prior to hydrogenation exhibits an iodine value of less than about 50.
12, The process of claim 11 wherein said second oil comprises a member selected from the group consisting of palm oil, coconut oil, tallow, and combination of these.
13. The process of claim 12 wherein the second oil comprises palm oil or tallow.
14. The process of claim 13 wherein the second oil consists essentially of palm oil.
15. The process of claim 1 wherein the second oil is obtained by fractionation of that oil.
16. The process of claim 1 wherein said liquid vegetable oil comprises a member selected from the group consisting of safflower oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, rapeseed (Canola) oil, peanut oil, linseed oil and wheat germ oil.
17. The process of claims 4, 5, 6, 12 or 17 including printing said blend into a stick margarine.
18. A low-trans-isomer-containing edible fat product comprising a blend of about 20 to about 30% by weight of a hardstock and the balance by weight of a liquid vegetable oil, said hardstock having an SFI solids content of at least 30% at 92°F, said hardstock being a randomly interesterified mixture of saturated babassu nut oil having an iodine value of less than 2.0 and a second saturated edible oil having an iodine value of less than 2.0, the mixture comprising said babassu nut oil and said second oil in the weight proportions of about 75:25 to about 40:60.
19. A low-trans-isomer-containing margarine which comprises a water-in-oil emulsion wherein the oil phase comprises a blend of about 20 to about 30% by weight of a hardstock and the balance by weight of a liquid vegetable oil, said hardstock having an SFI solids content of at least 30% at 92°F, said hardstock being a randomly interesterified mixture of saturated babassu nut oil having an iodine value of less than 2.0 and a second saturated edible oil having an iodine value of less than 2.0, the mixture comprising said babassu nut oil and said second oil in the weight proportions of about 75:25 to about 40:60.