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Oils and Fats News
July/August 2019
Laurence Eyres FNZIFST
Major award for long serving Oils and Fats member
One of our long serving members Associate Professor Marie Wong has been awarded the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology’s (NZIFST) most prestigious award, the JC Andrews Award. She received the award at the NZIFST annual conference last week in Christchurch. The award recognizes members who have made a substantial contribution to science and technology and leadership in the food industry. It is presented annually at the Institute’s conference in memory of Massey’s first Chancellor, Dr John Clark Andrews, who first proposed that a food technology degree course be established at the University. Dr Wong is highly connected and an influential researcher in the food industry. She excels in food engineering, food processing and food science – all key components of food technology. As part of the award, the recipient is invited to give a keynote address on a topic of their choosing. Dr Wong chose to speak about how food technology has grown at Massey, her research work and her own history working on various industry projects, including her pioneering work in the avocado oil industry. She will be the nominee of this group for the codex representative “to review all available data on the characteristics and origins of avocado with a view to revising the provisions for avocado oil.” She has carried out and supervised many oils and fats projects over the years including work on adding value to coconut oil. She will be presenting at the WCOF in Sydney in February 2020.
WCOF Sydney 2020
The organising committee has extended the deadline for abstracts for the conference. This will be an excellent venue for presenting your latest work on processing, ingredients and science.
One of the guest speakers is Alan Paine of De Smet. He and two other experts have been major contributors to Inform Connect, the AOCS blog for problem solving. The other two are Keith Meyer and Albert Dijkstra. Their contributions on various queries would make a good modern lipid book on its own. If you have not tuned into Inform Connect then it is well worth doing so,
https://www.informconnect.org/home
Ingredients Seminar Auckland
Invita ran one of their very informative seminars in May with very useful data on their range of food ingredients. The most relevant to this group were the advances in their structured lipid offerings from Advanced Lipids. These include Infat for infant nutrition and newer structured lipids for other supplements.
Their oligosaccharides FOS and GOS are very useful ingredients for the food and nutrition industries. They are useful in aiding insomnia. Their technical information is extensive. They are the agents for Kempas Edible Oils in Malaysia.
Draft code of practice for MCPD and GE
Refining of edible oils (at temperatures of about 200°C or higher) can produce 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (MCPD) esters (3-MCPDEs) and glycidyl esters (GEs). Exposure to 3-MCPDE and GE can occur through consumption of refined oils and various food products containing refined oils, for example, infant formula, dietary supplements, fried potato products, and fine bakery wares. Toxicology studies show that 3-MCPDE and 3-MCPD have effects on the kidney and male reproductive organs and are non-genotoxic carcinogens. GE and glycidol are genotoxic carcinogens. The 83rd JECFA Meeting evaluated 3-MCPD, 3-MCPDE, GE and glycidol and recommended that efforts to reduce 3-MCPDE and 3-MCPD in infant formula be implemented and that measures to reduce GE and glycidol in fats and oils continue, particularly when used in infant formula. Most unrefined oils do not contain detectable levels of 3-MCPDE or GE.
For vegetable oils, factors that contribute to capacity to form 3-MCPDE and GE during refining include climate, soil and growth conditions of source plants or trees, their genotype, and harvesting techniques. These factors all affect the levels of precursors of 3-MCPDE and GE (e.g. acylglycerols, chlorine containing compounds). 3-MCPDE forms primarily from the reaction between chlorine containing-compounds and acylglycerols like triacylglycerols (TAGs), diacylglycerols (DAGs), and monoacylglycerols (MAGs). GE forms primarily from DAGs or MAGs. 9. Some chlorinated compounds are precursors for 3-MCPDE formation. Oil producing plants or trees absorb chloride ions (in the form of chlorinated compounds) during plant or tree growth from soil (including from fertilizers and pesticides) and from water, and these chloride ions are converted into reactive chlorinated compounds, leading to formation of 3-MCPDE during oil refining. Oil fruits and seeds contain the enzyme lipase; lipase activity increases with fruit maturation, while the lipase activity in seeds remains stable. Lipase interacts with oil from mature fruits to rapidly degrade TAGs into free fatty acids (FFAs), DAGs, and MAGs, while the effect of lipase in seeds that are appropriately stored is negligible. GE formation begins at about 200°C. GE formation increases exponentially with increasing temperature. When DAGs exceed 3-4% of total lipids (like in high FFA palm oil), the potential for GE formation increases. Formation of 3-MCPDE occurs at temperatures as low as 160-200°C, and formation does not increase with higher temperatures. 12. Because 3-MCPDE and GE are formed via different mechanisms, different mitigation strategies are needed to control their formation. Due to the different formation mechanisms, there generally is no relationship between relative levels of 3-MCPDE and GE in individual oil samples. GE is generally easier to mitigate than 3-MCPDE, because its formation is directly associated with elevated temperatures (with formation beginning at about 200°C and becoming more significant at temperatures >230°C). GE is formed primarily from DAGs and does not require the presence of chlorinated compounds. Oils can be deodorized at temperatures below 230°C to avoid significant GE formation. However, it is not practical to decrease deodorization temperatures below the threshold that would lead to 3-MCPDE formation (160-200°C), as that could affect the quality and safety of the oil.
http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/
Algal DHA Oil
Onavita DHA algal oil is the newest addition to ADM’s Omega-3 product line, which also includes Onavita ALA from non-GMO flaxseed oil. Omega-3s are vital for proper cell function and credited with powerful benefits for the brain and body, including cognitive development and heart and eye health in every stage of life for humans. ALA is the essential omega-3 which must be obtained through diet since it is not produced by the body. DHA is derived from ALA in the body, but scientific experts believe separate dietary consumption is needed.
Vegans and Omega 3
Vegans can miss out on some vital nutritional components particularly omega-3 fatty acids.
Several studies have demonstrated that vegetarians and vegans have much lower plasma concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids (i.e. docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids) when compared to those who eat fish. A sample (n = 165) of vegans was recruited, and their omega-3 index was determined using a dried blood spot methodology. A subset of 46 subjects with a baseline omega-3 index of <4% was given a vegetarian omega-3 supplement for 4 months and then retested.
The omega-3 index increased from 3.1 ± 0.6% to 4.8 ± 0.8% (p = 0.009) in the supplementation study.
CONCLUSIONS: they concluded that vegans have low baseline omega-3 levels, but not lower than omnivores who also consume very little docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids. The vegans responded robustly to a relatively low dose of a vegetarian omega-3 supplement.
B Sarter, KS Kelsey, TA Schwartz, WS Harris. Blood docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid in vegans: Associations with age and gender and effects of an algal-derived omega-3 fatty acid supplement Clin Nutr. 2015 Apr;34(2):212-8.
Cannabinoids
Not specifically a lipid but the chemistry, biochemistry and extraction/purification techniques have strong resemblances, hence the interest in the topic.
The Ministry of Health has just released a document on medicinal cannabis.
https://www.health.govt.nz/publication/medicinal-cannabis-scheme-consultation
Rice Bran Oil and Geoff Webster
AOCS has just released a new book on this oil and is reviewed in this journal by Geoff Webster who has recently commenced independent consulting in our field once again. He is a food technology consultant based in Auckland. He specialises in oil and fat-rich foods such as spreads, fried foods, baked goods and dressings. He can help with product development, process improvement and shelf life extension. He has recently re-joined Foodinc Food Industry Consultants (foodinc.co.nz). You can check the Foodinc website or email him at geoffw86@gmail.com.