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Crystallisation and Physical Properties of Fats - from Molecules to Market

From 18 to 19 June 2008, a two-day conference will be held in the historic city of Ghent in Belgium. The aim of the conference is to review the latest research into the crystallisation and physical properties of fats.

There are many applications of natural fats in both food and non-food products. The physical properties of the fats play a large part in the quality and characteristics of these products.

Topics will include research into pure triacylglycerols (of which fats are comprised) and natural fats themselves, both alone and in products such as chocolate, spreads and emulsions, as well as non-food applications. Expert speakers will come together to share up-to-date developments on topics such as crystallisation, crystal structure, polymorphism and physical interactions in both model systems and real products. Selected presentations from the meeting will be published as papers in a special issue of the European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology.

The first day will concentrate on the purer side of research, while the second will look at more applied aspects. Much has been published on the properties of pure triacylglycerols and much has been published on natural fats. However, less research has been published that links these two extremes. The behaviour of fat mixtures can be very complex, and many aspects are poorly understood. Jan Los (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen) will start the first day with a report on the modelling of phase behaviour and crystallisation in fats, an attempt to bridge the gap between the behaviour of the natural fat and its components in the pure state.

Malcolm Povey (Leeds University) will describe his work using ultrasound to study the crystallisation of fats in emulsions using model systems based on n-hexadecane and more practical systems based on cocoa butter. Most fats are polymorphic in nature, ie they exhibit two or more crystalline forms having different physical properties. René Peschar (Universiteit van Amsterdam) will present recent studies aimed at understanding the difference in Β’ to Β polymorphic phase transition between so-called symmetric and asymmetric triacylglycerols. Andrew Stapley (Loughborough University) will give a paper concerned with the use of optical microscopy and image analysis to study the growth and nucleation rates of mixed systems of the pure triacylglycerols, tripalmitin and tristearin.

Kevin Smith (Unilever Research, Colworth) will describe the influence of trisaturated triacylglycerols (SSS) on the crystallisation of symmetric mono-unsaturated triacylglycerols (SOS) while the effect of unsaturated acyl chains on the structural transformations of triacylglycerols, observed using x-ray scattering, will be presented by Oleksandr Mykhaylyk (University of Sheffield). Bringing a fresh view to the topic, Bart Goderis (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) will talk about fat crystallisation as seen through the eyes of a polymer scientist. Finishing the first day, Eckhard Flöter (Unilever Research & Development, Vlaardingen) will discuss the role of physical property data in product development.

The second day will focus more on the products and processes that are influenced by the physical properties of the fats concerned. In line with the drive to reduce trans fatty acids in the diet, Mike Gordon (University of Reading) will begin the day by presenting his work on the crystallisation of low-trans shortenings and its effect on rheology. Following this, the effect of partial acylglycerols on solid fat profiles will be described by Jeroen Vereecken (Universiteit Gent).

Cocoa butter is a much-valued fat, used in a much-liked product — chocolate! Gijs Calliauw (Desmet Ballestra) will report on the possibilities of improving the physiological properties of cocoa butter by selected oil processing. Chocolate connoisseurs will be aware of the problem of fat bloom, a whitish, powdery coating that can appear on the surface of chocolate. Paul Smith (Cargill) will describe how profilometry can be used to study the changes taking place on the surface of chocolate during storage, while Frédéric Depypere (Universiteit Gent) will present a phenomenological approach to understanding fat bloom caused by fat migration in chocolate products. Yves Kegelaers (Puratos) will discuss heat transfer modelling in liquid chocolate as a route to the development of a simple method of tempering chocolate. Marcel Pacques (Friesland Foods) will talk about building the future of dairy, and Frank Hollander (Cargill) will take a look at vegetable oil candles.

This conference is a great opportunity for both academic and industrial staff working on oils and fats, and fat-based food products to ensure that they remain aware of emerging knowledge in this area.

Organised by the Oils & Fats Group with the Laboratory of Food Technology and Engineering at the Universiteit Gent.

SCI Oils & Fats Group