Stable fats for healthier bread

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The milk-like fat emulsion from the Jena nutrition researchers is baked into omega-3 whole-grain bread. Source: Gerhard Jahreis, University of Jena

18.06.2011  - 

Some people happily spread butter on bread, but still cut away the fat from their barbecued steak. We have a complex relationship with fat - we know from experience and all sorts of nutritional advice that it is unhealthy and, yes, fattening. Unfortunately, it's also largely responsible for the creamy consistency of ice cream, for lending flavour to takeaway food and for a pleasant sensation in the mouth. Gerhard Jahreis from the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena knows that this feeling is in many ways more important even than aroma and taste. The Head of the Chair of Nutrition is coordinating the project 'Allipids - Preventive and Effective Foodstuffs Based on Health-promoting Lipids' (Allipids - Präventiv wirksame Lebensmittel auf der Basis von gesundheitsfördernden Lipiden), a research collaboration between three universities and four industrial partners and sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) up to 2013 with a total of 2.5 million euros.

The goal of the project is to better exploit the potential of polyunsaturated fatty acids in foodstuffs. According to studies by the German Society for Nutrition, these can reduce the risk of heart attacks and have an anti-inflammatory effect in the body. "The problem with fatty acids is firstly their susceptibility to oxidation, and secondly their taste," explains Gerhard Jahreis. "Unsaturated fatty acids are not very chemically stable, and they quickly go rancid and taste bizarre." Which all means that even the most health conscious of people only take fish oil and linseed oil in extremely small quantities.

A sensation in the mouth like Swiss chocolate

To make unsaturated fats usable for foodstuffs, the scientists have experimented with ways of making them technically more non-perishable and of neutralising the taste and consistency - the greatest challenge of all, says Jahreis. "The feeling in the mouth when eating is almost more important than the taste. If something is grainy, we tend not to like it. We want our fats to be smooth and to have a nice melt, like a good Swiss chocolate."

The project, which involves around 30 scientists, engineers and graduate students, consists of two phases. Firstly, the fatty acids are technically optimised, for example by using water-oil emulsions, which have the effect of stabilising them. The University of Jena is cooperating in the project with bio- and food technologists from Karlsruhe and Magdeburg, who have also been involved in earlier lipid research projects. Finally, the efficacy of the modified fatty acids is tested. In studies, people suffering from hypertriglyceridemia and rheumatism, i.e. individuals with high blood fat values and a particular sensitivity to saturated fatty acids, are dosed with the new form of 'packaged' anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids.

Arachidonic acid: a healthy substitute

In the second phase of the project, specific saturated fats in foods are replaced with unsaturated fats. Jahreis uses the example of arachidonic acid, an essential omega-6 fatty acid found in eggs and animal fats such as lard. "It has an inflammatory effect," he explains. "We want to create a product line where we end up eating only 'good fats'." The cooperation with industry partners has "the advantage of providing a product that you can actually eat", says Jahreis. And there are many fields of application: Involved in the cooperation are the baked goods manufacturer Kampffmeyer, Herbstgut Landmolkerei, a butcher in Memmingen who is integrating the emulsions in his sausages, not to mention the baked goods manufacturer Gutena in Jena, which makes the 'Filinchen' range of crispy crackers. Jahreis expects a number of 'pilot products' to be finished by the end of this year. When and whether these foods make it to the supermarket shelves, on the other hand, is up to the industry partners. "They have to be affordable. In this way, we release the companies onto the market."

Author: Cornelia Kästner