Novozymes meets low TFA demand

Increasing consumer awareness linking high consumption of trans fatty acids to a rise in the risk of coronary heart disease is driving the market for alternative ingredients.

Food manufacturers such as Swiss giant Nestle and US company Frito-Lay, a division of Pepsi Co, have already started to answer market demand with the introduction of low trans fat products. New rules introduced into the US earlier this year are likely to dramatically boost market demand.

In July the US department of Health & Human Services said that food manufacturers have three years to get their act in place, with new FDA rules dictating that by 2006 all food labels must list the amount of trans fatty acids.

Although Europe does not currently possess any equivalent TFA rules, from the beginning of June this year Denmark became the first country in the world to introduce restrictions on the use of industrially produced trans fatty acids with its 2 per cent rule. Oils and fat are now forbidden on the Danish market if they contain trans fatty acids exceeding 2 per cent and from 31 December 2003, the restriction will also apply to oils and fats in processed foods.

Arguably a direct reflection of the new rules, Danish enzyme company Novozymes​ this week announced the launch of Lipozyme TL IM, a kosher food-grade lipase for enzymatic interesterification.

According to the company this novel enzyme process yields margarine, confectionery, and bakery shortening products that contain no trans fatty acids.

"Lipozyme TL IM uses cost-effective technology that will match the current solids profiles. This simple and easy process yields a more natural fat and it's chemical-free,"​ said the company in a statement this week.

Announcing first half year results in August this year and a drop in food enzyme figures, the Danish enzyme firm said its Oils & Fats division is set to focus resources on increasing market penetration, including sales of enzymes that can remove or reduce the content of trans fatty acids in oils.

Operating profit for the company rose for the first half of 2003 by 7 per cent to DK 458 million (€61.6m), of which DK 448 million was generated by enzymes and DK 10 million by micro-organisms. Sales of food enzymes were 3 per cent lower than the same period in 2002.

Recent scientific evidence suggests that consumption of trans fat raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol ('bad' cholesterol) levels that increase the risk of coronary heart disease. The findings have encouraged consumer groups to pressurise the food industry to cut trans fats in foods.

Trans fat occurs in foods - such as snacks and fried foods - when manufacturers use hydrogenation, a process in which hydrogen is added to vegetable oil in order to turn the oil into a more solid fat.