The food industry has done a remarkable job recently to eliminate or reduce the trans fatty acid content in foods. There is still much work to be done, but at the very least the educated consumer has more choice than in the past.Reformulating foods to eliminate or reduce trans fatty acids is a costly and time consuming process for the food industry.
Let’s be honest, food consumers can be fickle and major brands are understandably concerned about risking the equity built in the name. Consumer loyalty can be shattered if there is only a slight change in branded product’s sensory attributes.
Sensory panels may tell us that they actually prefer the taste of a new and healthier product … however if a new healthier product is only slightly different than the original, a better product may not be worth the risk to a multi-billion dollar brand.
It is therefore not surprising that food companies have eliminated or reduced trans fats using whatever economically viable solution presents the least amount of risk to the brand.
The prevailing solution for eliminating or reducing trans is to substitute a recipe with palm oil or a palm oil fraction. Palm oil is readily available and economically viable alternative. Unfortunately spiking world demand for palm oil as edible fat and a bio-fuel feedstock
is fueling concern from environmentalist around the globe.
Evidence presented by many suggests that the myristic and palmitic fatty acids found in palm oil are associated with a greaterrisk of cardiovascular disease. Palm advocates on the other hand dispute the claims and suggest that other components in palm oil support their assertion that palm oil is a healthy oil.
The food industry is certainly confronted with a difficult choice when choosing between reformulation options.
Ultimately the consumer will for vote saturates or fewer saturates with their wallets, or the government will step in and force changes as we have seen with trans fat labeling regulations.
Until that time palm oil will continue to prevail as the optimum solution for industry challenged to eliminate or reduce trans fatty acids and maintain consumer acceptance.
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