Since the 1950s, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils have been the primary replacement for butter, lard, palm oil, coconut oil, and other hard fats in many processed foods. And in the world of baking today, most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening made from this type of oil.

Partial hydrogenation is a process that adds hydrogen to vegetable oil, eliminating most of the unstable fatty acids and causing the oil to become solid at room temperature. Shelf-life is increased, and the oil is better able to match the cooking properties of solid shortenings.

For all their advantages, partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) are, however, also the primary source of trans-fatty acids, more commonly known as trans fats. Numerous studies have shown PHOs can promote the risk of coronary attack by raising the level of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) in the blood while reducing high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL).

In fact, higher risks of cardiovascular disease can already be registered at daily trans fatty acid intake levels of just five to six grams. Other studies have indicated that a high intake of saturated fats and trans fats promotes insulin resistance, too, threatening consumers with Type 2 diabetes.

FROM PHOS TO NO PHOS

In June 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally took the mounting evidence to heart, finalising a determination that artificial trans fats are not generally recognised as safe, and have set a three-year time limit for their removal from all processed foods. Despite an 85 percent reduction already achieved by the industry over the past 10 years, mainly due to the mandatory labelling, US manufacturers are facing a potentially challenging phase-out period toward PHO-free recipes.

Happily, a few countries have been hard at work on solutions for over a decade. Most notable among these is Denmark, wher PHOs were banned already in 2004. In the years that followed, the southernmost Scandinavian country was able to demonstrate a remarkable improvement in cardiovascular disease mortality rates.

PHOs have long helped to form more stable products, support mouthfeel, and extend shelf-life. Without them, it can be more difficult to consistently produce high-quality results. In fact, every part of the production process becomes more sensitive to a variety of factors that were comfortably handled by PHOs in the past. So how can recipes be adjusted to deliver uninterrupted product quality?

In the search for new sources of unsaturated fat, it does not take long to realise that the road ahead for large-scale bakery production is paved with palm oil. While fully hydrogenated soy bean oil, like palm oil, does not appear to have negative health consequences, and while the former is generally preferred in the US market for traditional reasons, its melting point is too high to be useful.

ACTIVATED EMULSIFIERS TO THE RESCUE

So much for the choice of oil. But how can manufacturers get non-hydrogenated palm oil to perform just as well, or even better than the good old days of PHO-based recipes?

For lower-fat cakes, the challenges are relatively few. For high-fat products, however, bakers can reap significant benefits by switching from shortenings to activated cake emulsifiers. In fact, with the right combination of emulsifiers and expert assistance from the emulsifier manufacturer, a non-PHO recipe can be created with a very similar mouthfeel and texture to the PHO containing original.

RAPID ALL-AROUND FUNCTIONALITY

Unlike emulsifiers carried on shortening, activated emulsifiers are activated on starch in a highly sophisticated extrusion process, resulting in a convenient free-flowing white powder that keeps fat out of the equation. The whipping active emulsifier is fixed to the outer surface of the starch particles during the extrusion process, and a very large surface area of several square meters in a single gram is created. The effect is rapid functionality with fast uptake and incorporation of air into a cake batter for improved stability and higher quality.

When bakers use liquid oil to substitute for trans fats, the emulsifier system needs to be able to hold the liquid oil into the cake batter to avoid a change in mouthfeel and oiling-out in the cake. Emulsifiers that can tolerate high amounts of oil in both aerated and nonaerated systems are therefore necessary. Todays best activated cake emulsifiers both aerate (form the cakes structure) and emulsify (combine water and oil).

SHELF-LIFE WINNER

Powdered, extruded emulsifiers were developed with high functional stability in mind. Achieving such stability is largely a question of which form is taken by emulsifier crystals: alpha, beta or beta-prime.

In cake mixes, the use of saturated fats and shortenings requires fats to be incorporated in the mix by spraying or cutting the melted shortening into the dry ingredients. Emulsifiers are then incorporated together with the oil in the mix. As the cake mix cools off, emulsifier crystals are formed, not all of which will be in an alpha form, or which may morph from alpha to beta and beta-prime crystals during the shelf-life of the cake mix, leaving the cake mix without the emulsifiers expected functionality.

Powdered activated emulsifiers remain in an active alpha form, which is the most stable crystal form to incorporate air, for a very long period of time. Consequently, these products have easily up to 24 months of shelf-life and will keep its performance throughout the shelf-life of the cake mix.

PRACTICAL ADVANTAGES

Powdered emulsifiers are also more easily dispersed in the mix than non-powdered solutions, making them easier to work with, particularly when it comes to dosing. In cake mixes, too, added ingredients do not need to have a particular order and the all-in-one method can be used more reliably.

The fewer ingredients an emulsifier contains, the easier it is to work with in product development or when adjusting existing recipes. Palsgaards active emulsifiers, for example, comprise just two ingredients.

Depending on their source, therefore, such emulsifiers can have a number of advantages over traditional, PHO-based solutions, helping manufacturers to:

• Provide healthier cakes
• Develop label-friendly products free of fats
• Shorten labels by incorporating more functionality in fewer ingredients
• Enable single-step production instead of the several steps required for shortening-based recipes
• Increase their sustainability profile via RSPO Segregated palm oil-based, all-vegetable, non-GMO emulsifiers
• Reduce sugar content (wher sugar-free emulsifiers are used)

TIME TO CHOOSE

Today, bakers have a range of powdered, activated emulsifier types from which to selec, each with its particular applications and advantages. For industrial bakers using shortenings or gels, one option is to choose a versatile active emulsifier that can be applied in a variety of products from sponge cakes, Swiss rolls or layer cakes to pound cakes.

Other activated emulsifier products particularly suited to retail cake mixes can ensure very fast reactions, as can be seen by the whipping curve (left). Depending on the cake type, low density can be achieved in as little as two to four minutes, making it possible to create lighter, softer and highly aerated cakes. Such emulsifiers are also highly tolerant of other ingredients—enabling optimal results in situations wher the manufacturer has little control over consumer ingredient choices.

Using activated emulsifiers in cake production also opens the way to more sustainable product offerings. A small, but growing number of ingredient manufacturers can, in fact, deliver emulsifiers with RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) Segregated certification. Achieving this level of sustainability, however, requires more of the manufacturers own production setup, and more information from other manufacturers with experience in the area could help.

KEY SUCCESS FACTOR

Key to a successful transition from PHO to non-PHO-based baking recipes is access to expertise from the emulsifier manufacturer. Leading manufacturers can typically provide application experts, pilot labs and generic recipes to assist the baking industry, increasing the likelihood of a smooth, cost-effective transition. To enhance the chances of success with new, market-compliant cake products, contacting an activated emulsifier producer to learn more about these highly effective ingredients is a wise first step for any manufacturers PHO-free strategy.