Remove trans fat from donut labels

Wholesale bread and cake distributor gets trans fat off their labels with the help of a plant based oil blend from Cargill

Food trends come and go - but fats have endured more controversies and changes than most. Animal fats were common food ingredients until they began to receive negative press due to their potential impact on health.  Trans fats followed with similar negative press coverage. In removing these fats from their food labels, one food manufacturer faced a considerable food ingredient replacement challenge.   

Functionally, animal and trans fat are ideal for baking applications as they hold up well under high heat. Finding a plant-based oil that has a similar functional profile proved to be complicated. Palm oil is commonly used as a single replacement option but it contained more saturated fat than the distributor wanted for their products.   

Donuts present an unusual challenge as the oil needs to be carefully formulated to allow coatings to adhere to the donut properly and to achieve desired shelf life. Cargill technical managers worked with the customer’s research and development operation to develop the initial formula. The formula was an oil blend that consisted of soy, cottonseed and palm oils to address the nutritional needs of the customer and to reduce overall saturated fats. 

Initially, the palm oil blend worked well in both the lab and industrial settings. Quickly thereafter, the customer purchased and rolled-out the product to all of their plant locations.  

Soon after implementation, the formula did not prove robust enough to withstand changing variables in the factory and distribution channels.  Sometimes it worked fine and other times it did not. This was a huge issue as Cargill and the customer had already launched the product in several markets.  

In spite of the disappointment, the customer’s R&D department recognized the effort that Cargill had put into this project and asked for immediate help to rectify the situation. Cargill’s technical team quickly stepped in to analyze and remedy the oil performance inconsistency.

The researchers found a simple cause for the breakdown; more solids were needed in the oil. The amount of solids simply needed to be uniform to prevent breakdowns. A new palm oil blend was formulated and tested in the industrial setting by Cargill's technical team and it worked. Four months later the customer started using the new palm oil blend in their main plant and, more deliberately, rolled out the new oil blend to their other plant locations, testing at each location to ensure functionality. 

According to Lynne Morehart, Cargill Technical Services Manager, “thanks to the trust we had with the customer, they gave us the opportunity to fix the issue instead of turning to an entirely new business partner.” Cargill’s broad ingredient portfolio of blending oils makes it possible to get an ideal mix with the best of each raw material. The palm oil blend resulted in excellent color, natural taste and neutral flavor.

Additionally, Cargill’s plant location footprint aligned well with this customer’s plant locations.  Cargill’s oil supply chain flexibility and resources provided reliability that other oil suppliers couldn’t offer.