Rating: Safe

Shortening

With trans fat now recognized as being the most harmful type of fatty acid of all, companies have sought to find safe substitutes for PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL, the source of artificial trans fat. One such substitute is inter-esterified oil. The oil is produced by chemically combining a polyunsaturated oil like soybean oil with fully hydrogenated soybean oil. Fully hydrogenated oils do not contain trans fat, but consist largely of saturated fatty acids. That particular type of saturated fat, stearic acid, is relatively innocuous compared to the other common types of saturated fat. By varying the proportions of normal and fully hydrogenated oil, companies can obtain oils that have the desired consistency. Inter-esterified oils are good substitutes for such saturated fats as palm oil, which increases the “bad” cholesterol.

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