Industrial Margarine with a Low Saturated Fatty Acid Content 
Kaustuv Bhattacharya, Brian Sehested, Pernille Gerstenberg Kirkeby, DuPont Nutrition Bioscience ApS, Brabrand, Denmark
Margarines used in industrial bakeries or food processing are specially formulated and packaged for applications other than spreading or frying. For fat-based bakery products such as cakes and pastries, baker’s margarines are the most important ingredient. The texture and consistency of industrial margarines are particularly significant and are adapted to the specific application in which they are to be used. Trans fat removal from cake margarine became an issue two decades ago when scientists highlighted a link between trans fat consumption and heart disease. Today, the focus has shifted to eliminating their substitute – saturated fats as in the meantime, food industry has overcome the trans fat challenge.
From a technical perspective, removing trans-containing partially hydrogenated fats from cake margarine was relatively simple. Using fats high in saturates, such as palm oil and its fractions, it is possible to formulate margarines with a similar solid fat content and melting properties. An emulsifier is added to optimize fat crystallization and secure the margarines 3-D crystal network properties that give baked products the appropriate textural and sensory properties. However, saturated fats, with their high solid fat content, are unavoidable to obtain a similar hardness to partially hydrogenated fats. 
But, with health-conscious consumers now keen to reduce saturates in their diet, application specialists have started testing alternative opportunities. The aim is to produce trans-free industrial margarine that is low in saturated fats and yet sufficiently plastic for lamination and whippable to achieve stable air incorporation in cake batter. There are two paths of investigation. One is to reduce cake fat content overall by using a reduced fat industrial margarine, a strategy that will bring about a saturated fat reduction in the region of 10%. Second, to decrease the content of saturated fats in cake margarine from ca. 36% to 11% without compromising the specific structure in the final cake by developing fluid cake margarine or shortenings.