Chapter 3 - High-oleic soybean oil

Abstract

High-oleic soybean oil is rapidly growing in popularity among food manufacturers and food service operators largely due to the exceptional stability it exhibits during use. With oleic acid above 75% and polyunsaturated fatty acids less than 10%, it is one of the most stable oils sold commercially in the United States today. High-oleic soybean oil is preferred in applications where resistance to oxidation is required, such as fry oils, spray oils, and ingredient oils that must maintain a long shelf life. Both fry life and shelf life are extended twofold to threefold compared with commodity soybean oil. Driven by consumer demand for simple ingredients, food companies have been able to remove synthetic antioxidants from foods by switching from commodity to high-oleic soybean oil. High-oleic oils recently received a qualified health claim from the United States Food and Drug Administration, and a recent clinical trial has demonstrated the advantage of high-oleic soybean oil over other more saturated oils. Advances in interesterification have allowed processors to develop shortenings using high-oleic soybean oil to replace palm-based shortenings, enabling a solid fat with reduced impact on cardiovascular risk factors. At least five companies and institutions are developing high-oleic soybean varieties, all based on different genetics. This chapter provides an overview of the history and current status of high-oleic soybean oil and byproducts.