Cargill is hosting a free Webinar on September 28 with Food Processing's very own Diane Toops as moderator.

The webinar will provide an overview of the policy environment and consumer views, the issues faced by food makers as they strive to reduce fat or add healthy oils, as well as tricks and tips for overcoming formulation challenges from food scientists with expertise in fats and oils. 

Fat doesn’t have to be a dirty word:
Tackling the formulation challenges associated with reducing fat in food products

Bill Gilbert Principal food technologist Cargill

Reduced-fat muffins and cakes that taste as good as full-fat versions? Eating is believing when it comes to baked goods made with Cargill's CitriTex® blends. CitriTex blends are a mixture of citrus pulp fiber and other ingredients that allow you to reduce the oil in muffins and cakes by 50% — without sacrificing the indulgent taste or texture consumers expect in these products.

Cargill understands what customers want in their baked goods and, increasingly, that includes healthier versions. Until recently, there was no product able to mimic the characteristics of fat in baked goods. The most food scientists could achieve was a 20% to 30% reduction in fat without a drastic decline in eating quality.

CitriTex changed that, even converting skeptical customers — who, when blinded, could not tell the difference between full-calorie and CitriTex versions. CitriTex is a drop-in solution: it requires no change in formulations or manufacturing processes. It can be added any time during mixing, and doesn't need to be pre-hydrated. What's more, it costs less than the oil it's replacing, solving one of our customers' biggest challenges when it comes to reduced fat.

CitriTex blends debuted in 2010 at the Institute of Food Technologists' Annual Meeting and Food Expo in Chicago. Now, three of our customers are going to market with baked goods made with CitriTex, two with reduced-fat muffins for food service and in-store bakery sales and one with fiber-added low-fat muffins for sale in a large retail coffee house chain.

Here at Cargill, we've also used it to formulate cake and muffin prototypes with 50% less fat and sugar than their conventional counterparts, for a 25% calorie reduction.

Mike Erickson Technical service manager Cargill Oils & Shortenings

Let's face it: frying in oil or fat achieves a moisture content, flavor profile and crisp finish that is hard to beat. Yet the same oils that make fried chicken, fish, french fries and donuts so tempting are also the reason why they will never make any nutritionist’s Top 10 list.

While there may be no such thing as "healthy" fried foods, the food industry has made great strides in making them healthier while preserving their appeal. For example, Cargill has virtually eliminated the trans fat and significantly reduced the saturated fat in its cooking oils.

Like others in the food industry, Cargill is motivated to help customers improve the nutritional profiles of fried foods to help in the overall US goal of slowing or lowering obesity rates and to help reduce the risk of obesity-related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

Early on, we  recognized the need for frying oils with reduced trans fat and saturated fat but with the same stability and ability to achieve a pleasing flavor, color a

nd texture. We took canola oil, which has the lowest saturated fat content of all commercially available oils, and altered it to produce a robust cooking oil with reduced saturated fat and practically no trans fat per serving: Clear Valley® 65 high oleic canola oil.

To achieve different flavors, we blended Clear Valley® 65 high oleic canola oil with other oils. We also modified and combined other oils, such as corn, cottonseed, soybean and sunflower oils, with small amounts of animal fats or fully hydrogenated oils to enhance the flavor and appearance of fried foods.

Like many Americans, my family doctor has cautioned me to take better care of my expanding body.

"Cut out processed foods," she says. 

Be sure to stock your pantry with low-fat and low-calorie foods if you feel like you must snack. 

I don't know about you, but working in the food industry, particularly in a job that is centered around processed foods, makes the chore of sticking to only whole foods a little difficult. 

Did I add I'm also a parent? 

My 13 year old recently came home from school with some information that startled me as a parent. One of her teachers was planning to show the movie Supersize Me in class that week.

Most parents might read that and think "So what, kids need to learn not to inhale Mickey D's every day" but I heard it and thought: What lesson are you teaching these kids? 

When it comes to all natural and organic foods, consumers are wiser to the differences than most marketers might think and eager to purchase them if the price is right, according to a recent survey conducted by Harrisburg, Pa.-based marketing agency Pavone. More than three-quarters of respondents said they would prefer to purchase organic and all natural goods if comparably priced with other leading brands.