The preparation of polyglycerol esters suitable as low-caloric fat substitutes

Medicinal research has linked dietary fats with such maladies as cancer, heart disease and stroke. The overconsumption of fats has been declared one of the major dietary health concerns in the United States by the Surgeon General. As a result, there is an increased awareness by consumers of their need to reduce the intake of calories derived from fat. The food industry has shown much interest in the development of substitutes for dietary fats and oils. To date, no substitute that can be used as a full fat replacement has entered the marketplace. Linear polyglycerols (LPGs) have been prepared by a proprietary polymerization process. Fatty acid esters prepared from LPGs were found to resist hydrolysis by digestive enzymes and were poorly absorbed in animal feeding tests. When esterified with fatty acids, LPG esters are similar to natural triglycerides in color, odor, taste and other physical characteristics. These properties make LPG oils good candidates for use in nonnutritive edible oil applications, particularly in uses that require stability at high temperatures.