Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #225806
Title: Mid-oleic/ultra low linolenic acid soybean oil - a healthful new alternative to hydrogenated oils for frying

Author
item Warner, Kathleen
item FEHR, WALTER - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/21/2008
Publication Date: 7/13/2008
Citation: Warner, K.A., Fehr, W. 2008. Mid-Oleic/Ultra Low Linolenic Acid Soybean Oil: A Healthful New Alternative to Hydrogenated Oil for Frying. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society. 85:945-951.

Interpretive Summary: Hydrogenated soybean oil has been used for over forty years in the food and restaurant industries because it is stable enough for frying and for longer shelf life of foods. Now, food manufacturers are looking for alternatives to hydrogenated oils because they contain trans fatty acids. Over the past twenty years, plant breeders have been modifying soybeans by traditional plant breeding techniques to change the fatty acid composition such as reducing linolenic acid, a fatty acid known to cause off-flavors in frying oils. Increasing the oleic acid in soybeans is another potential improvement of soybean oil for frying. In this study, we evaluated the stability of a new soybean oil—mid-oleic/ultra low linolenic acid in frying tests with tortilla chips. Results showed that the new oil had much better frying stability than regular soybean oil and similar frying stability to hydrogenated soybean oil, but with better flavor. This new knowledge will help the oil industry find oils that have natural stability but without the need for chemical hydrogenation which produces undesirable trans fatty acids. This new mid-oleic/ultra low linolenic acid soybean oil is stable during frying, is healthful and produces good quality fried foods.

Technical Abstract: To determine the frying stability of mid-oleic/ultra low linolenic acid soybean oil (MO/ULLSBO) and the storage stability of food fried in it, tortilla chips were fried in MO/ULLSBO, soybean oil (SBO), hydrogenated SBO (HSBO) and ultra low linolenic SBO (ULLSBO). Intermittent batch frying tests were conducted up to 55 hr of frying and then tortilla chips were aged up to 4 months at 25 deg C. Frying oils were analyzed for total polar compounds to determine frying stability of the oil. Tortilla chips were analyzed for hexanal as an indicator of oxidative deterioration and by sensory analysis using a trained, experienced analytical panel. Results showed no significant differences between total polar compound levels for MO/ULLSBO and HSBO after 55 hr of frying indicating similar fry life. However, total polar compound levels for ULLSBO and SBO were significantly higher than for either MO/ULLSBO or HSBO indicating lower oil fry life. Hexanal levels in aged tortilla chips fried in SBO were significantly higher than chips fried in any of the other oils. Tortilla chips fried in MO/ULLSBO and HSBO had significantly lower hexanal levels than chips fried in ULLSBO. Based on these results, MO/ULLSBO not only had a good fry life but also produced oxidatively stable fried food and would be a healthful alternative to HSBO.