THE FACTS

FILES

THE PLATFORM

Action plan for improving the fatty acid composition

The action plan for snacks has been set up by the AKSV, the General Association of Producers of Cooked products and Snacks. Members of the AKSV are producers of croquettes, hamburgers, salads, cooled ready-to-eat meals, pizzas, rolls, etc. Activities that are intended to improve the fatty acid composition in these products have been planned up to and including 2010 within the framework of the Task Force for the Improvement of the Fatty acid composition.

Since 2002, the branch has put a lot of effort into reducing the amount of trans fat and saturated fat in its products. In particular enormous reductions have been achieved in the field of trans fat. The members of the AKSV offer a wide range of foodstuffs such as snacks (croquettes, minced meat sausages, spring rolls, hamburgers), salads, cooled ready-to-eat meals, mayonnaises, sauces, pizzas, rolls, etc. Salads, mayonnaises and sauces already only have a low content of trans and saturated fats because of their origins so the activities are concentrated on the first-named products.

An important fact is that of the total of oils and fats declared as used by the branch 2/3 is used as oil or fat as ingredients and 1/3 for pre-deep-frying a number of products. The snacks that are pre-deep-fried absorb a small proportion of the frying fat. For information: by no means all of the snacks, including those containing meat, are pre-deep-fried by the producer. Many are often only precooked in water or steam.

Objectives for 2010

New objectives for the branch were formulated in November 2007.
In order to achieve the objectives set for 2010 it is of primary importance that the members continue on the path taken and at least consolidate the results achieved.

General Association of Producers of Cooked products and Snacks	% 2005	% 2007	OBJECTIVE 2010
Total content of trans fatty acids as % of all fats	5.9	2.3	< 2.0
Total content of saturated fatty acids as % of all fats	30.1	24.7	< 20
Ingredients - content of trans fatty acids	3.4	1.9	< 1.75
Ingredients - content of saturated fatty acids	23.7	15.4	< 15
Deep-frying fat - content of trans fatty acids	9.8	3.1	< 2.5
Deep-frying fat - content of saturated fatty acids	39.7	36.4	< 30

Table 4 Objectives for content of trans fatty acids and saturated fats in 2010
Note: the above percentages relate to the fatty acid composition of the fats used, thus not the percentages in the end product for which the fat is used.

The objectives given here will be achieved by replacing deep-frying fats which are rich in saturated fats and trans fats (in particular hardened palm fat, palm oil and palmoleine) with liquid vegetable oils.

The AKSV will continue to provide information to the companies at branch level for the present time and promote awareness among the companies.

The following step by step plan has been prepared for the companies in order to achieve the objectives that have been formulated:

1. Making the personnel concerned aware of the necessity of reducing the trans fatty acid contents.
2. Monitoring of existing recipes and processes and the development of new products:
   • what are the specifications of the fats used? are alternatives possible?
   • why is a particular fat mixture being used? what is the functional necessity? is this a technological or a price-driven requirement?
   • is it necessary to maintain the quantity of fats used?
3. Consultation with suppliers on the basis of monitoring of the recipes and processes. Repetition of step 2 for the alternatives in order to find a suitable alternative.
4. Testing of alternatives:
   • influence on the production process
   • influence on the end product
   • shelf life of raw materials and end product.
5. Test carried out on a small scale first, then pilot production on a larger scale. Back to step 3 depending on the results.
6. Introduce the end product on to the market and feedback of experiences.