Edible oils and fats - international conference
The new generation of oils and fats will be the focus for the international conference on ‘Edible Oils and Fats: from fundamentals to the future’.
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Abu Dhabi |
The two-day conference on Edible Oils and Fats will be held from 15 to 16 April 2008 at the Hilton Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It will focus on:
- Raw materials
- Processing
- Modifications
- Applications
- Health aspects
Healthy eating is becoming an increasingly important part of our modern lifestyle. Today, a considerable number of mainstream consumers are not only aware of the health benefits, but also of the harmful effects of specific food ingredients.
Out with the bad, in with the good
Take the recent case of the presence of nutritionally-undesirable trans fatty acids (TFAs) in foods containing partially hydrogenated oils. The mainstream consumer has now been alerted to the fact that the consumption of TFAs raises levels of ‘bad’ low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the bloodstream and lowers the ‘good’ high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, thereby increasing the risk of coronary heart disease. In order to meet consumer demands, food manufacturers are being provided with fat ingredients that have practically zero or low/reduced TFAs thanks to the ongoing, extensive, research and development work carried out by the edible oil industry.
Biodiesel keynote paper
During the past few years, the production of edible and inedible oils and fats has been greatly influenced by the growing demand for biodiesel. The keynote paper at the Edible oils and fats international conference will be delivered by Ken Carlson, Crown Iron Works, USA. He will expand on the most important developments and trends and make predictions about the future of production and processing of oils and fats.
| Olive oil, a principal ingredient in the healthy ‘Mediterranean diet’, is becoming increasingly popular in many other countries |
Health and quality
Over the past decade, the consumption of oils and fats in the Middle Eastern countries has increased significantly by about 50%. Dr Misbah (Unilever, Netherlands) will cover sources of impurities in crude oils consumed in the Middle East. Dr Misbah will also discuss best practice in achieving the desired quality of oils, as well as best practice for safety control points relating to impurities that can affect human health. He will explain how good practice applied throughout the supply chain minimises contaminant risks and results in end products of superior nutritional quality.
Presentations by Drs Kellens and De Greyt (Desmet Ballestra Group, Belgium) will focus on recent developments in bleaching, deacidification and modifications of oils and fats, especially for maximum removal of contaminants; minimal formation of undesirable TFAs; and maximum retention of the beneficial components of refined oil.
Interesterification and dry fractionation are considered to be desirable modification technologies for the production of food fats, with good consistency and low TFA levels. The combination of ‘specific’ enzymatic interesterification with dry fractionation will be discussed as an interesting route to high-quality fats. The application of dry fractionation to produce healthy nutritional products, rich in omega 3 fatty acids, will be presented by Dr Deffense (Crystallisation & Degumming Sprl, Belgium).
Olive oil, a principal ingredient in the healthy ‘Mediterranean diet’, is now becoming increasingly popular in many other countries, including the Middle East. Professor Boskou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece) will review the positive health properties of a variety of minor components in olive oil, including a tyrosol derivative, reported to have an anti-inflammatory function.
Dr Minihane (University of Reading, UK) will discuss the critical topic of dietary fat composition – its health and disease implications – including the positive benefits of long-chain omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids derived from oily fish with respect to cardiovascular disease, inflammation and age-related cognitive decline. The challenges of incorporating such highly oxidisable ingredients into food products and the future development of functional products will be outlined by Ms Bita Farhang (University of Guelph, Canada).
Other presentations in the areas of raw materials and processing will include: palm oil and fractions covered by Dr Idris, Malaysian (Palm Oil Board, Malaysia) and Lauric oils presented by Mr Sahasranamam (IOI Loders Croklaan, Malaysia). The degumming and refining of oils will be described by Mr Logan (Alfa Laval, Denmark) and developments in filtration systems will be presented by Mr Veldkamp (Amafilter Group, The Netherlands). The fat crystallisation process will be reviewed by Dr Smith (Unilever, UK) and the processing of rice bran oil (so called ‘heart’ oil) will be discussed by Mr Rajan Skhariya (Mecpro Heavy Engineering, India).
Speakers on health and applications will include: Dr Kochhar (Oxford Brookes University, UK) who will discuss current and future trends for ‘healthier’ frying oils, and Dr Smith will deal with confectionery fats. Mr Willson (Lipologic, USA) will describe characteristics and production of vanaspati, butter, dairy and related fat products consumed in the Middle East. Dr Paul Smith and Serpil Metin (Cargill Global Foods Research, Belgium) will examine the production of healthy and highly functional bakery fats by the use of emulsifiers, while Dr Olçay (Besler, Turkey) will discuss quality control criteria for spreads and margarines. Ms Farhang will provide an overview of nanotechnology applications in producing high quality, healthy and smart fat-based food products. Last, Mr Abbas-Majid (Leatherhead Food International, UK) will make a presentation on labelling issues relating to oils and fats, including nutrition and health claims, comparative and superlative claims in accordance with food legislation of several Middle East countries and Codex Alimentarius.
This international conference will provide a golden opportunity to obtain a complete picture of new developments in the field of edible oils and functional, healthy, fat products. Make sure you don’t miss this special SCI event.
Oils and Fats Technical Group
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