Dive Brief:
- General Mills' latest patent filing is for low-density frosting composition with non-hydrogenated, palm oil-based fat with low trans fats.
- Densities that work for whipped ready-to-serve frostings are about 0.75 grams to approximately 0.95 grams per cubic centimeter, says General Mills. Frosting fat is made up of non-hydrogenated, palm oil-based shortening and crystal-enhancing fat, like a fully or partilally-hydrogenated fat ingredient.
- "The patent relates to low-density frostings that may be sold commercially and feature desirable taste, texture, mouthfeel, appearance, viscosity, spread-ability and storage stability properties," reports Food Business News.
Dive Insight:
The FDA's recent mandate has made trans fats a priority. The Grocery Manufacturers Association recently asked the FDA for low-level PHO use.
"While a strong interest lies in removing trans fats from food products, including R.T.S. frostings and low-density R.T.S. frostings, the challenge of re-formulating previous commercial products to avoid trans fats is daunting, especially if consumer expectations are already in place, which is true for low-density, R.T.S. frostings," according to the patent.
Daunting is the financial outlay, the pressure on R&D teams, and the ability to satisfy consumers. Removing artificial PHOs is also projected to be in the $12-$14 billion range, or around $200,000 per product, according to the FDA.