Interesterification of Edible Oils and its Applications

Today، for preparation of many food products، specialty oils are needed which naturally do not exist; thus by using certain technologies، oils with required characteristics must be manufactured. One of the most common techniques is hydrogenation of oil، almost a century old. This process، however، while can not create oils suitable for all desired applications، generates considerable quantities of saturated fatly acids and trans isomers which harms consumer health. One process with the ability to provide required functionalities in oils is interesterification، while it does not cause the ill-effects of hydrogenation. Therefore، it has been increasingly used in industrial societies for the last three decades. In this article، specifications and procedures for interesterification and also the applications of interesterified oils are discussed.