Low fat spread

An analyst has been asked to determine the cholesterol concentration in a particular tub of low-fat spread. The analyst takes ten samples from the tub and determines the cholesterol concentration in each sample. The results are shown in Table 6.1. 

These ten results represent a sample from a much larger population of data as, in theory, the analyst could have made measurements on many more samples taken from the tub of low-fat spread. Owing to the presence of random errors (see Section 6.3.3), there will always be differences between the results from replicate measurements. To get a clearer picture of how the results from replicate measurements are distributed, it is useful to plot the data. Figure 6.1 shows a frequency plot or histogram of the data. The horizontal axis is divided into bins , each representing a range of results, while the vertical axis shows the frequency with which results occur in each of the ranges (bins). 

Chronakis, I.S., Kasapis, S. (1995). Preparation and analysis of water-continuous very low fat spreads. Lebensmittel-Wissenschaft und-Technologie, 28,488 194. 

Emulsions play an important role in the formulation of foods, that is, o/w emulsions are used for preparation of dressings, artificial milks, cream liqueurs, and w/o emulsions are used in the production of margarines and low-fat spreads. 

In this context, the Morinaga Milk Industry (Japan) developed and commercialized a very low fat spread using membrane emulsification technology [59, 60]. The advantages in the production of low-fat spreads made the process one of the first... 

Sucrose esters can be tailored to specific needs by the number of hydrocarbon chains that are attached to the sucrose and these surfactants find applications in foods because they are colourless, odourless, and tasteless. For example, to produce a low fat spread with a high water content, then three fatty acid groups might be required to get the right surfactant to blend the margarine and water to a smooth consistency. 

Low-fat spreads are mixed gel systems of fat, water, emulsifiers, and hydrocolloids. Because they often undergo emulsion breakdown, starch derivatives and gelatin are used to provide the aqueous phase with acceptable rheological and melting characteristics. In a recent study, creep-compliance studies were used to examine the rheological characteristics of butter, margarine, and a low-fat spread (Chronakis... 

Table 6-7 Creep-Compliance Parameters of Low-Fat Spreads at 5°C (Evageliou et al., 1997 Stanley et al., 1998) ...

Figure 6-23 Creep-Compliance Curves at 5°C of Butter (A), A Commercial Low-Fat Spread Containing Gelatin (B), and an Experimental Product with 5.2% Fat Content and Containing Maltodextrin (C) (adapted from Evageliou et al., 1997 Stanley et al., 1998).

Evageliou, V, Alevisopolous, S., and Kasapis, S. 1997. Application of stress-controlled analysis to the development of low-fat spreads, y. Texture Stud. 28 319-335. 

Figure 14. Low-fat spread using modified whey protein concentrate.

Very low-fat spreads have recently been developed. The first European commercialized product was made by St. Ivel and is called St. Ivel s Lowest. It contains 25% butter fat and has a lower saturated fat content than sunflower margarine (129). 

Lecithin use in low fat spreads may decrease the emulsion stability and increase the tendency to oil off however, it also functions to slow the emulsion breakdown in the mouth. Therefore, the use of lecithin and the level of use must be evaluated for each formulation. 

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