The Production of an Experimental Table Margarine Enriched with Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA): Physical Properties

Even though conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is known to have some beneficial effects on the human body, its consumption has decreased over the past 20 years due to the replacement of animal fats by vegetable oils. In this study, using the structured lipid (SL) containing CLA, an experimental table margarine enriched with CLA was produced and stored for 3 months at two temperatures prior to performing the relevant analyses. The GC results showed that the margarine fat had 10.6% CLA. The solid fat content was the highest in week 0 in all samples, which then decreased during storage but the hardness increased. An increment in dropping point was also observed in the samples. In week 0, all the samples had the beta' crystal as the predominant crystal form but a crystal transformation from beta' to beta was observed during storage.