As consumers grow increasingly health-conscious about the foods they eat, bakers are reformulating their offerings with healthier ingredients and cleaner labels to boost product appeal. One way many accomplish this is by reducing the saturated fat content in their baked goods or snacks.

“Saturated fats and particularly partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) have been shown to have serious detrimental effects on consumers’ health,” said Jennifer Young, manager, natural food protection, antioxidant applications, Kalsec. “In order to meet consumer demands for healthier products, bakery and snack manufacturers are replacing saturated fats and PHOs with unsaturated fats and oils to deliver on the consumer’s asks and remain competitive in the marketplace.”

According to Cargill’s FATitudes study, 51% of consumers report closely monitoring fat and oil content in their food, while 66% avoid certain fats and oils.

“As part of this research, we’ve found that package claims linked to health, such as ‘no saturated fat’ generally scored higher than other types of claims,” said Jamie Mavec, associate category and product marketing communications manager, Cargill.

While reducing or fully replacing these fats can win over consumers, doing so poses a slew of potential challenges for manufacturers. In addition to contributing to product taste, texture and structure, saturates are critical to maintaining the shelf life of baked goods. 

“Saturated (or solid) fats offer great stability. They are much less prone to oxidation, resulting in longer shelf life as compared to less saturated oils,” explained John Satumba, category R&D leader for indulgence, Cargill. 

When saturates are reduced by blending in unsaturated fats, the resulting oil is more susceptible to this oxidation, leading to quicker product rancidity that negatively impacts flavor, aroma and food safety, said Sergio Machado, senior director, research development and applications, Corbion.

“Oxidation not only affects the taste and smell but also can degrade the nutritional value of the fats, reducing the health benefits associated with unsaturated fats,” he added. 

Reducing saturates while shielding the shelf life and quality consumers expect from their baked goods can be difficult, but thankfully for producers, there are now many options at their disposal to pull it off.

This article is an excerpt from the June 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Fats & Oils, click here.