Antioxidants for food fats and oils

Types of antioxidants currently available for food fats and oils are listed, and theoretical and practical aspects of selecting the proper ones for various food uses are reviewed. Consideration is given to relative potencies, modes of application, regulations governing use, and some of the more prominent problems encountered in their commercial applications. A brief look is taken into future needs and possible developments with fat and oil antioxidants. One of seven papers presented in the symposium “Fats and Oils in Food Industry,” AOCS Meeting, Atlantic City, October 1971.     

Analysis of fats and oils

Analytical information on fats and oils is required for trading, quality control, nutritional labeling and forensics. Development of analytical procedures was one of the historical reasons for the organization of the Society of Cotton Products Analysits; it continues as a major effort of the successor organization, the American Oil Chemists’ Society, through its Uniform Methods Committee and final publication of methods in the Society’s “Official and Tentative Methods.” A review of the current status of methods development will be followed by a glimpse of methodological research currently underway.     

Refining of oils and fats

The technique of continuous refining of oils and fats has steadily improved since the first commercial installation some 30 years ago. Refining is the most important economic factor in the overall processing of an oil from the crude to the finished product. Crude oil handling, reagent selection, mixing, heating, and centrifugal separation are all critical when an attempt is made to obtain the maximum refining efficiency. The agronomist, scientist, control laboratory and operating personnel, along with the equipment manufacturers, have all aided in obtaining more efficient and economical processing methods. In a discussion of the over-all refining process, soapstock handling must also be considered. In recent years several successful continuous soapstock acidulation plants have been installed. With this addition to a refinery, the refining operation can now truly be considered as a continuous process. Like most industrial processes, this has been an evolution from the batch system to a semicontinuous system up to the present continuous treatment of soapstock and wash water to produce a high-purity acid oil on an economical basis. Details of the various factors in refining and aeidulation on a commercial basis, along with control methods, are discussed. Presented at the AOCS Short Course, “Processing Quality Control of Fats and Oils,” East Lansing, Mich., Aug. 29–Sept. 1, 1966.     

Authenticity of fats and oils

Food authenticity has become a focal point attracting the attention of producers, consumers, and policy makers. Although in most cases adulteration of fats and oils does not pose a threat to public health, fundamental rights of consumers (right of correct information and buying “value‐for‐money”) are violated by fraudulent malpractice. Fraud is only economically viable, if a cheaper commodity can be made to resemble a genuine, more expensive product. The extent of adulteration that is possible is quite limited and, hence, the basic product that is being adulterated cannot be fundamentally different from the genuine material. Most methods to detect fraud rely on a thorough knowledge of the natural variation of characteristic constituents of the commodity concerned and make use of complex statistical procedures to derive indicators of adulteration. A range of analytical methods to detect fraud has to be developed, modified, and reappraised on a continuous basis to be a step ahead of those pursuing these illegal activities. In this article the technical merit of different analytical platforms to establish the authenticity of oils and fats is reviewed.     

Hydrogenation of oils and fats

Hydrogenation is a complex 3-phase reaction, and the end result depends largely on transport and chemical resistances. Control of these factors is of critical importance to a predictable end product and this control is possible if a fundamental understanding of the process is achieved. The basic transport steps involved to bring the hydrogen and oil together in the presence of catalyst and the effect of different process variables on the course of the chemical reaction will be the major subjects of discussion in this presentation.