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Show New fat substitutes now on the market, food scientist says By DENNIS HINKAMP Consumer Information Writer Utah State University Is there a chance we will have a perfect calorie-free fat substitute in the near future? You might as well ask when the national debt will be paid off. Both are possibilities, but not without a few trade-offs. There are fat substitutes already in oiir supermarkets, according to Dr. Charlotte Brennand, food scientist in the Utah State University College of Family Life. Brennand says there are no-fat liquid salad dressings that use xanthal gum to give the same mouth-feel as oil. These have been around since the early '80s. She says mixtures of starch and starch derivatives have also been used frequently to reduce the fat content of imitation sour cream, salad dressing and frozen desserts. Like xanthal gum, starch substitutes are not calorie-free, calorie-free, but when substituted for fat they can reduce the calorie content by more than half because starches carry only four calories per gram, while fats contain nine calories per gram. These substitutes do not have all the taste and functional properties of fat, so they frequently are used to replace part, but not all of the fat in a product, Brennand says. Another fat substitute in supermarkets already is Simplesse, produced by NutraSweet Company. It currently is found in a frozen dairy dessert called Simple Pleasures, but probably will be used in products such as yogurt, cheese spread and salad dressings in the future. Brennand says Simplesse is made from milk andor egg proteins to create a reduced calorie substitute for fat. It replaces three grams of fat (27 calories) with one gram of protein and two grams of water which adds up to only four calories. Simplesse cannot be used in heated foods or as an oil for frying because heat destroys the properties that give it a fat-like mouth-feel. She says the real potential revolutionary fat substitute is Olestra, produced produc-ed by Proctor and Gamble Co. Olestra can be used as a frying oil substitute for all those fatty products we love so much, such as french fries and potato chips. It can be used in virtually any recipe that requires fats. If this were not enough to make it a dieter's dream food, it contributes zero calories. As you might expect, there is a hitch, Brennand says. Olestra has not hn nnnrnved bv the FDA vet. One of the areas of concern being in- vestigated is the fact that Olestra passes through the body undigested. This is why it is calorie-free. She says this can lead to a rather unsavory problem that probably can't be delicately described. The problem is termed "anal leakage." The short explanation is: if you eat too much of a substance which goes into your mouth as a slippery substance and it goes through your body undigested and unchanged, it is likely to go out the other end of your digestive track a slippery substance possibly so slippery your normal control muscles will not be able to stop it. Brennand says this is a problem that is being worked on. Proctor and Gamble is proposing that the first use of Olestra be to replace up to 35 percent per-cent of the fat in shortenings and cooking oils and up to 75 percent of the fat in food service industry deep-fat frying operations. If I were forced to predict, I'd say calorie-free fats will become a reality long before much fat is trimmed from the national debt. |
