New developments in low calorie fats and oils substitutes

Low calorie fats and oils substitutes are intended to replace conventional fats and oils in the diet while retaining the required physical and organoleptic properties, but with less than 9 kcal/g. Indeed, some of the fat substitutes will contribute zero calorie to the diet. The most notable is olestra(R) (now olean(R)) developed by Procter and Gamble Company. This fat substitute, chemically referred to as sucrose polyester or sucrose fatty acid polyester, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on January 24, 1996, for use in savory snacks. Other fat substitutes with potential to partially replace some, but not all the calories from fat are either under development or are already in the market. Obviously, none of the fat substitutes, including olestra(R), is free from possible side effects when consumed. However, the potential benefits may outweigh the problems when consumed in moderation. A new group of reduced calorie fat substitutes gaining recognition is a family of structured or specialty lipids with the same triacylglycerol backbone as conventional fats and oils, but contain short or medium-chain fatty acids in addition to the long-chain fatty acids or contain poorly digestible fatty acids in amounts or at positions that they do not occur naturally. Examples are: carprenin(R) salatrim (Benefat(TM): developed by Nabisco Foods Group and marketed by Cultor Food Science), and variants of these for specific nutritional, pharmaceutical and physical properties and applications.