Zero-Calorie Functional Fat Replacement

Along with excess body weight comes an increased risk for serious health conditions, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and some types of cancer. As the number of overweight Americans continues to rise, it’s important for food manufacturers to offer consumers sensible alternatives to their favorite high-fat foods.

“Olean® olestra was specifically developed and formulated to allow consumers to safely enjoy the benefits of great-tasting foods without the calories,” says Samir Verma, commercial manager, P&G Food Ingredients. “Olean is a specific type of sucrose ester made from sugar and soybeans, which, based on the size and shape, is not digested by the body. As a result, Olean adds no fat or calories to foods.”

Backed by some 150 studies, olestra was FDA-approved for use in 1996 for prepackaged, ready-to-eat savory snacks (Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 172, Section 867). In 2004, the approval was extended to include microwave popcorn. In these applications, the ingredient maintains full-fat flavor, texture, mouthfeel and stability, minus the calories and cholesterol of fat.

Olean, available in semi-liquid and solid forms, serves as a “direct 1:1 replacement for traditional fats,” Verma says, making it easy to formulate the ingredient into a range of chips, puffs and crackers to reduce or eliminate trans fatty acids and saturated fats, and reduce calories, as well.

Unlike other fat replacers, the ingredient is the only fat replacer with sufficient heat stability (425°F) to be useful in frying applications. Also, “because it is made from cooking oil, it mimics the mouthfeel and flavor of real fat, just without the calories,” notes Verma. “It is also versatile, and we have tailored the ingredient to perform in applications ranging from fried chips to baked cookies.”

The company has recently confirmed the suitability of Olean for use in prepackaged, ready-to-serve cookies, and has submitted a GRAS application for that use.

P&G Food Ingredients

11530 Reed Hartman HighwayCincinnati, OH45246-2422Phone: 513/626-0895Website: olean.com