New margarine takes modular approach to saturated fat

The margarine, called Novarin, was launched by the Dutch company in November last year and was showcased at the Reformulation Symposium in Amsterdam last week.

Chris van Rooijen, product developer industry, told FoodNavigator.com that non-hydrogenated oils and fats remain a major target for the bakery industry – but that the downside is higher saturated fat in order to keep the functionality.

Although industry has been presented with some solutions for cakes and cookies, he said that retaining the plasticity and elasticity of puff pastry remained a challenge. The margarine has to remain between the dough layers in order for it to rise, as the water separates out, and this is a function usually served by saturated fat.

However the company has conducted line trials using Novarin as a one-to-one replacement for normal margarine in puff pastry, and has found it can replicate the action of saturated fats.

Van Rooijen did not reveal details of the technology behind the ingredient’s action, but said it is partly due to the blending of the oils, and partly due to changes to the water face – that is, where the water meets the emulsifiers meets the fat.

A puff pastry product using Novarin is expected to launch in Germany in the near future. Meanwhile, a muesli cookie containing it is already available in The Netherlands at C1000 supermarkets.

Modular approach ​

Romi Smilfood is taking a ‘modular’ approach to Novarin. Karin Visser, product manager, industry, explained that the customer can chose the precise variant of Novarin it wants depending on the attributes it wants for the final product.

A customer can chose if it wants less fat in the product; less saturated fat; all natural; or to reduce fat/saturated fat to such a level as to be able to make nutritional claims.

In all cases, Novarin is non-hydrogenated, with almost zero trans fats.

The idea is to “play, create and build”​ using modular product development, said Visser.

Models ​

The company discussed several model products developed using the ingredient, and showed how they compare to saturated fat in a similar product that uses normal margarine with 80 per cent fat.

A 35g muesli cookie contained 1.4g saturated fat when made with margarine at 80 per cent fat (7 per cent of the guidance daily amount, or GDA), compared to 0.8g when made with Novarin 60 (4 per cent of the GDA).

A 28g cup cake contained 2.2g of saturated fat when made with margarine at 80 per cent fat (11 per cent of the guidance daily amount, or GDA for a moderately active adult), compared to 0.8g when made with Novarin 60 (4 per cent of the GDA).

A 45g portion of puff pastry contained 5.4g of saturated fat when made with margarine at 80 per cent fat (27 per cent of the guidance daily amount, or GDA), compared to 3.6g when made with Novarin 60 (18 per cent of the GDA).