Margarine is associated with vegetable fat in almost everyone. Most often, margarine is made from vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, palm oil, corn oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, and cottonseed oil, but any animal fat that is not dairy fat can be used to make margarine. Hence, sometimes you can find fish oil in the composition of margarines. Hard margarines resemble butter, while it is the soft margarines that are used to spread. Is margarine he althy? Check the composition of selected margarines available on the Polish market.
Contents:
- Margarine - how is it made?
- Margarine - composition of margarines available on the market
- Trans fats in margarines
- Margarine and cholesterol
- Are margarines he althy?
Margarine , as defined by law, is a product obtained from vegetable and / or animal fats with a fat content of not less than 80% and not more than 90%. There are also margarines containing three quarters of fat - from 60 to 62% and semi-skimmed margarines - from 39 to 41% fat. Products that do not fit into any of the fat content categories are classified as X% spreadable fats.
Margarine - how is it made?
Basically, margarines can be divided into hard (cubed) and soft (cupped) ones. Hard margarines look like butter, they are used mainly in baking and frying and in the food industry for the production of cakes, cookies, wafers, powdered soups and sauces, ice cream, melted cheese, fast food, frying donuts in confectionery, production of fry, etc. They contain they usually contain between 60 and 80% fat.
Soft margarines are mainly used as spreads. At room temperature, they are a soft solid that spreads easily and will not solidify in the refrigerator. They usually contain 25 to 60% fat.
Until recently, the only method of margarine production used was partial hydrogenation (hardening, hydrogenation) of fats. To harden fat, liquid oils are saturated with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst and under high pressure. Under these conditions, hydrogen attaches to (unsaturated) double bonds in fatty acid chains, transforming them into fatty acidssaturated with single bonds. This causes the consistency of the fat to change from liquid to solid.
The disadvantageous he alth effect of the hydrogenation process is the formation of trans fatty acids (two hydrogens attached to two carbons forming a double bond are located "diagonally" to each other; one hydrogen "under" the carbon and the other "over" the adjacent carbon ).
Currently, margarine producers are increasingly abandoning the hydrogenation process in favor of transesterification (interesterification, interesterification). It is a method that allows you to obtain margarines with the desired properties, but at the same time almost completely free of trans fats.
This process causes the exchange of fatty acids within one fat molecule or between particles. It leads to an even distribution of fatty acids in the triglycerides, which changes the melting point of the fat mixture without changing its composition. Already 18% of the transesterified fat is able to maintain 82% of liquid fat, while maintaining a solid product consistency.
Margarine - composition of margarines available on the market
The composition of margarines is not identical in all cases, but the production technology means that in margarines, of course, apart from vegetable oils, there is water, s alt, an emulsifier that keeps the water-oil emulsion low in fat, a dye (most often natural carotene), vitamins (margarines are enriched with them) and acidity regulator.
Examples of selected margarines are as follows:
Soft Margarines
- Rama Classic : vegetable oils (rapeseed oil (45%), palm oil), water, buttermilk powder, s alt (0.3%), emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, lecithins), preservative (potassium sorbate), acid (citric acid), natural flavor, vitamins A, vitamin D and vitamin E, dye (carotenes), Fat content 60%
- Smakowita de Luxe : vegetable oils and fats (rapeseed, roasted sunflower seeds in varying proportions, palm oil, coconut oil, wheat oil - 0.1%), water, emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, lecithins), s alt (0.3%), aromas, acidity regulator (citric acid), vitamins (A, D, E), dye (carotenes), Fat content: 60%
- Tasty Margarine Buttery Smak : water, vegetable oils and fats (virgin rapeseed - 25%, palm, coconut), emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, polyricinoleate polyglycerol), milk butter (0.5%), s alt (0.5%), flavor, acidity regulator (citric acid), vitamins (A, D, E),dye (carotenes), Fat content: 39%
- MR Famous Vegetable : vegetable oils (rapeseed, sunflower - 24%), vegetable fats (palm, coconut), water, powdered whey (from milk), emulsifiers ( mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, sunflower lecithin, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids esterified with citric acid, s alt (0.15%), acidity regulator (citric acid), flavor, vitamins (A, D), color (carotenes), fat content 80%
- Optima Cardio : vegetable oils and fats (rapeseed, palm, coconut), water, plant sterol esters (plant sterols 5.4%), emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides fatty acids, lecithin), s alt (0.5%), flavor, acidity regulator (citric acid), vitamins (A, D), color (carotenes), Fat content: 60%
- Benecol Classic : rapeseed oil, water, plant stanol esters (6.6 g / 100 g plant stanols), vegetable (palm) fat, emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides fatty acids, sunflower lecithin), s alt (0.5%), natural flavors, acidity regulator (citric acid), dye (carotenes), vitamin A, vitamin D2, fat content 59%
Hard Margarines
- Bielmar PALMA : vegetable oils - sunflower and rapeseed in varying proportions, palm 15.9%, rapeseed vegetable fat partially hydrogenated, water, acidified milk, s alt (0.3 %), sugar, emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids esterified with citric acid, sunflower lecithin), flavor, color (annato), acidity regulator (citric acid), vitamins A and D3, Fat content: 80%
- Kasia Vegetable fat : vegetable oils (palm, rapeseed, sunflower, in varying proportions), water, emulsifiers (lecithins (sunflower), mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids), whey preparation (MILK), s alt (0.2%), flavors, acid (citric acid), vitamins A and D, color (carotenes), Fat content 72%
- Z Kruszwicy Milky Margarine : vegetable oils and fats (palm, rapeseed and sunflower in variable proportions, coconut), water, skim milk (10%), emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids esterified with citric acid, lecithins), s alt (0.3%), preservative (potassium sorbate), acidity regulator (citric acid), flavor, color (annato), vitamins (A , D), Fat content 60%
The fatty acid composition of margarines is not constant. It depends on the type of oils used, the type of margarine and the production method.
Analysis from 2013 examining the compositionmargarine fatty acids available on the Polish market showed the following results:
| Product | Fat content% | Sum of saturated acids [%] | Sum of monounsaturated acids [%] | Sum of polyunsaturated acids [%] | Sum of trans acids [%] |
| Hard Margarines | |||||
| Maryna | 80 | 26.30 | 62.31 | 11.39 | 21.60 |
| Palm z Kruszwicy | 80 | 43.24 | 38.68 | 18.08 | 5.81 |
| Black palm tree | 80 | 46.41 | 42,45 | 11.14 | 26.63 |
| Kasia | 75 | 47.42 | 41,43 | 11,15 | 0.40 |
| Tortowa | 70 | 47.59 | 41.04 | 11.37 | 0,36 |
| Good housewife | 70 | 22.36 | 53,18 | 24,46 | 0.28 |
| Milky | 60 | 47.08 | 41.01 | 11.91 | 0,38 |
| Palma | 60 | 47.55 | 41.25 | 11,20 | 0,33 |
| Baking Delma | 60 | 30.66 | 53.80 | 15.54 | 0.27 |
| Mean | 70,6 | 39.85 | 46.13 | 14.03 | 6,23 |
| Soft Margarines | |||||
| Benecol | 60 | 32,20 | 52,45 | 15,35 | 0.74 |
| Daria | 55 | 35,46 | 32,10 | 32,44 | 4,32 |
| Housewife | 40 | 30,20 | 54.82 | 14.98 | 0.68 |
| Rama idea | 39 | 25,48 | 56,26 | 18,26 | 0.86 |
| Vita | 30 | 29.99 | 54,16 | 15.85 | 0.82 |
| Miss figura | 30 | 31.63 | 53.64 | 14.73 | 2,15 |
| Adela | 25 | 29.83 | 56,58 | 13.59 | 0.71 |
| Ola | 25 | 34.31 | 52.32 | 13.37 | 0.67 |
| Delma for sandwiches | 20 | 30.92 | 54.08 | 15.00 | 0,35 |
| Vegetable butter | 80 | 29,42 | 54.36 | 16,22 | 11.04 |
| Extra vegetable | 30 | 21.88 | 64.62 | 13.50 | 12.02 |
| Wyborne 75% | 75 | 19.61 | 66,49 | 13.90 | 15.46 |
| Vegetable | 75 | 33.70 | 52.09 | 14.21 | 0.60 |
| Exquisite vegetable | 75 | 40.59 | 46.45 | 12.96 | 0,33 |
| Mean | 47,1 | 30.37 | 53,60 | 16.03 | 3.63 |
The sum of saturated fatty acids in soft margarines amounts to approx. 20-30% of all KTs, while in hard margarines - 30-50%. Monounsaturated fatty acids make up 30-60% of the fat in margarine, and polyunsaturated fatty acids 10-20%.
The greatest differentiation concerns the he alth-damaging trans fatty acids. Most soft margarines contain less than 1% trans KT. However, there are still margarines, especially hard ones, which contain significant amounts of this ingredient.
Worth knowingA brief history of margarine
Margarine was invented in France by Hippolytus Megges-Mouries in response to the call of Napoleon waging the Franco-Prussian war. Due to the very large shortages of butter, it was necessary to invent a cheap alternative for soldiers and French workers. The first margarine was patented in 1869 and was made from beef tallow mixed with milk.
In 1902, the German Wilhelm Normann patented the method of hardening vegetable oils by hydrogenation, which significantly increased the production of margarine, as it made it independent of the availability of beef tallow. From 1969 in the United States and some European countries, the production of margarine and butter began to reach similar levels. Daily use of margarine was popularized by the theory that the consumption of butter and animal fats increased the risk of heart disease, atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes. By the beginning of the 21st century, margarines had become extremely popular in households and industries.
Currently, consumers' interest in butter is growing again, which is associated with the dissemination of scientific research that shows that the consumption of unsaturated vegetable fats in exchange for saturated animal fats does not reduce the risk of heart disease. More and more people are opting for natural products with a short composition and simple production method, such as butter, as opposed to margarine.
Trans fats in margarines
When consumed with food, trans fatty acid isomers increase the level of LDLcholesterol, the so-called "Bad cholesterol" and lower the level of HDL cholesterol called. "Good cholesterol") in the blood serum. They are a recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Excessive dietary intake of trans fats contributes to the disturbance of the synthesis of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cancer, and in infants and young children - asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis.
When looking at margarines, a distinction must be made between hard, diced, butter-like and most commonly used in baking margarines, and soft margarines with a more fluid consistency, sold in cups and containers of various sizes and used for spreading.
The content of harmful trans fatty acids in them varies greatly. Trans fats play a similar role in margarines as saturated fatty acids in butter - they are responsible for the solid consistency. So the harder a margarine, the more trans fats it contains.
If you want to avoid buying margarine containing trans KT, you can also take into account the price. The more expensive margarines, especially the soft ones and touted as beneficial to the heart, are most often made by interesterification and do not contain trans fats. However, to be sure, you should always read the composition. If margarine contains partially hydrogenated / hydrogenated vegetable oils, it certainly also contains trans KT.
The last dozen or so years have brought a revolution in terms of the content of trans KT in margarines. In 2004, the average trans fat content in industrial margarines (used in deep frying, confectionery, fast food, etc.) was 7.1% of all fats, and now it is 1.1%.
In soft margarines, the amount of trans fat is no more than 1% of the total fat (usually up to 0.5 g / 100 g). Hard margarines contain much more trans KT - from 1.5 to 2 g / 100 g. The tendency is therefore very positive, because a few years ago it was possible to find hard margarines containing up to 15 g of trans fat in 100 g.
The World He alth Organization has launched a project that by 2023, trans fats derived from hydrogenated oils are to be removed from all food resources.
Margarines and cholesterol
Margarines do not contain cholesterol and also provide a small amount of saturated fatty acids compared to butter. Soft margarines in the 1970s became a very popular butter replacement due to the theory that saturated animal fats raise blood cholesterol, promote atherosclerosis, heart attacks andother cardiovascular diseases.
In the last dozen or so years, several types of margarines dedicated to people with high cholesterol have appeared on the market. Vegetable oils are naturally rich in phytosterols with a structure similar to cholesterol, and "cholesterol" margarines are additionally enriched with plant sterols and stanols.
These compounds lower the levels of LDL in the blood and total cholesterol because they reduce its absorption. However, this action is only effective when cholesterol and phytosterols are consumed in a short period of time.
Consumption of 1-3 g of phytosterols per day is recommended for people with an increased risk of atherosclerosis. Products enriched in sterols and plant stanols should not be consumed by people with a he althy cholesterol level.
Are margarines he althy?
It is difficult to clearly answer the question whether margarines are he althy. Although many producers are switching their production methods to those that eliminate trans fats, we can still find significant amounts of these harmful fatty acids in hard margarines.
In addition, margarines are highly processed products with a long composition that have little to do with natural origin. Replacing butter with margarine, based on new scientific reports, has no real effect on reducing the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease, and hard margarines containing trans KT additionally increase this risk.
A much he althier source of unsaturated fatty acids recommended in the diet by many organizations are unrefined vegetable oils, avocados, nuts and seeds.
- Butter or margarine - which type of fat should you choose?
- Fat in the diet: oil, olive oil, butter or margarine?
Aleksandra Żyłowska-Mharrab, dietician Food technologist, dietitian, educator. A graduate of Biotechnology at the Gdańsk University of Technology and Nutritional Services at the Maritime University. A supporter of simple, he althy cuisine and conscious choices in everyday nutrition. My main interests include building permanent changes in eating habits and individually composing a diet according to the body's needs. Because the same thing is not he althy for everyone! I believe that nutritional education is very important, both for children and adults. I focus my activities on spreading knowledge about nutrition, analyze new research results, and make my own conclusions. I adhere to the principle that a diet is a lifestyle, not strict adherence to meals on a sheet of paper. There is always room for delicious pleasures in he althy and conscious eating.
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