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May 2012The secrets of Belgian chocolate
Belgium produces 270,000 metric tons of chocolate each year and boasts more than 2,000 chocolate shops. But what is it about Belgian chocolate that makes it so smooth, flavorful, and melt-in-your-mouth irresistible?
May 2012Plants “remember” drought, adapt
Research carried out at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL; USA) shows that plants subjected to a previous period of drought learn to deal with the stress owing to their “memories” of the experience.
April 2012The power of mass spectrometry in the detection of fraud
Fraudulent products cost industry billions of dollars each year. Perfumes are a good example.
April 2012Oil in biomass: a step-change for bioenergy production?
To help meet the rapidly growing demand for biofuels, scientists and policy makers envision that a variety of agricultural, municipal, and forest-derived feedstocks will be used to produce “second-generation” biofuels.
March 2012The Future of LAB
The global linear alkylbenzene (LAB) industry has experienced depressed margins and feedstock shortages during the past few years. The following is an analysis of the industry’s current state and its most likely future.
March 2012World supplies of rapeseed and canola likely to remain tight in the 2012/13 season
Even if Canadian farmers harvest a record canola crop of 14.5–15.0 million metric tons (MMT) in late summer 2012, there is a high probability that world production of rapeseed and canola will remain behind requirements in the 2012/13 season—mainly due to poor winter crop production prospects in the European Union (EU) and Ukraine.
February 2012Supercritical fluid-based extraction/processing: then and now
An expert in supercritical fluid technologies reviews past, present, and future developments in this field as they relate to lipids.
February 2012Methods for differentiating recycled cooking oil needed in China
Researchers from the West China School of Public Health at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, explain why the reuse of recycled cooking oil, or “gutter oil,” is such a difficult problem for government and public health officials to address.
February 2012Singapore: the place to be in October 2012
This rare meeting of minds will continue the conversation that began at the 2010 Montreux World Conference, a premier industry event that is held every four years in Montreux, Switzerland.
January 2012Oilseeds in Australia
Australia is now one of the world’s top three exporters of canola oil. inform takes a closer look at the factors that have advanced oilseed production in that country.
January 2012Benefits vs. risks of fish consumption
The benefits of fish consumption outweigh the risks, according to a joint expert consultation released in October 2011 by two United Nations agencies.
November 2011A new generation of renewable fuels is on the horizon
The lead inventor of a suite of technologies that can be used to convert triglyceride oils from camelina and other plants into renewable fuels and chemicals discusses two process schemes that are nearing commercialization.
November 2011Hydrogen peroxide in home-care formulations
Hydrogen peroxide-based bleaches are gentler to colors and fibers, are odorless, and have very low environmental impact. A research manager at Church & Dwight Co. describes the chemistry behind their development.
October 2011Omega-3 fatty acids: $13 billion global market
Awareness of omega-3 fatty acids as being among the most important nutrients for physical and mental health has reached critical mass, according to a new report on “Omega-3: Global Product Trends and Opportunities” from Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com.
October 2011Soy and breast cancer
Are soy foods safe for breast cancer patients? Soy is a rich source of isoflavones (primarily genistein, daidzein, and glycitein). The standard oral therapy undertaken after initial treatment (known as “adjuvant therapy”) for estrogen-sensitive cancers is either tamoxifen, which binds to estrogen receptors and stops cell growth signaling, or an aromatase inhibitor, which inhibits production of estrogen in the body.
September 2011IOM panel recommends tripling vitamin D intake: Panel’s conservative approach receives criticism
The 102nd AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo, held in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, May 1–4, 2011, featured a Hot Topic Symposium and subsequent panel discussion on the new intake recommendations for vitamin D made by the US Institute of Medicine. Science and health writer David Piller takes a closer look.
September 2011EU approves food labeling rules
New food-labeling regulations are in place in the European Union after the European Parliament (EP) approved rules aimed at helping consumers make “better informed, healthier [sic] choices.”
August 2011Self-assembly of lyotropic liquid crystals: from fundamentals to applications
AOCS Young Scientist Research Award recipient Raffaele Mezzenga describes self-assembly in lipidic mesophases and the potential of this phenomenon in modern processed foods.
July 2011Sustainability Watch
This month’s Sustainability Watch column was provided by Marguerite Torrey, inform technical projects editor. Following is her summary of the hot topic on sustainable technologies presented on Tuesday, May 3, at the 102nd AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo.
June 2011The trouble with crystal polymorphism
Crystal polymorphism is one of the most widely studied structural characteristics of fats used in spreads, shortening, and confectionery applications. Simply put, polymorphism refers to the fact that triacylglycerols (TAG), and other lipids, can crystallize in different crystal types—all having, on average, the same chemical composition.
June 2011Are algae really feasible as fuel?
Great effort—-and lots of money—-is being expended to develop algae as a feedstock for transportation fuel. There doesn’t seem to be a clear answer yet, however, as to whether algae will ever be economically viable for this purpose.
May 2011Insect oils: Nutritional and industrial applications
Many researchers have investigated wild plants as a new source of oils, but until now few have seriously considered insects. A recent analysis from Sudan indicates that insect oils offer several nutritional benefits and meet many of the specifications for biodiesel.
May 2011You are what your mother ate
Poor diet during pregnancy increases an offspring’s vulnerability to the effects of aging, according to research by scientists at the University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK).
April 2011Reconstructing formulas
A three-year study of commercial laundry liquids in Western Europe and the United States traces the evolution of surfactant systems.
April 2011US eggs now lower in cholesterol
According to new nutrition data from the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), eggs are lower in cholesterol than previously believed.
March 2011Maybe we don’t know beans . . .
Greater media attention is being paid to the health benefits of beans and legumes, but how much do we really know about the topic? Donna M. Winham reports.
March 2011How to control eating behavior--in mice
By illuminating key nerve cells that regulate feeding behavior, researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's (HHMI) Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia, USA, have discovered how to prod mice to eat voraciously-or sparingly-thanks to a "radiant" new technology.
February 2011Short- and long-term price forecasting for palm and lauric oils
Dorab E. Mistry presents excerpts from a talk he delivered at the 6th Indonesian Palm Oil Conference (IPOC) & 2011 Price Outlook, organized by the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) and held December 1–3, 2010, at the Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali.
February 2011New 3-MCPD/glycidol ester method
A direct method for the determination of fatty acid esters of both 3-MCPD and glyci¬dol has been published in the Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society (JAOCS).
January 2011Regulatory issues associated with the international oils & fats trade
FOSFA’s John Hancock reviews three major areas of regulation of the global trading of oils and fats.
January 2011Point-counterpoint on UC Davis olive oil report
In July 2010, the University of California Davis Olive Center released a report on olive oil labeling questioning the trueness-to-grade of extra virgin olive oil imported into the United States. The Executive Secretariat of the International Olive Council (IOC) responds to that report, and authors of the UC Davis report--Edwin N. Frankel, Rodney J. Mailer, Selina Wang, Charles F. Shoemaker, and Dan Flynn--address IOC’s response.
December 2010Biomass--The next revolution in surfactants?
Neil A. Burns examines this potential player in the surfactant value chain.
December 2010Sustainability watch
With the December 2010 issue, inform begins a new column, featuring some of the latest news and research on sustainability.
November 2010One person’s response to a high omega-6 diet
In a departure from the norm, inform presents a single-subject study from Queen of Fats author Susan Allport. In this first-person account, Allport writes about how a monthlong experiment in radically altering her diet had almost immediate effects.
November 2010Crop residues as feedstock for renewable fuels
Nutrient removal and net costs weigh on decisions to use crop residues as biofuel feedstocks.
October 2010Universal detectors for determination of lipids in biodiesel production
Biodiesel is often produced by reacting plant or animal oils with an alcohol to form the desired alkyl esters as fuel, and this transesterification is typically achieved using a base. This also produces free glycerol and acylglycerols as impurities in the biodiesel that must be limited in the final fuel product because they form harmful deposits in engines and damage emissions control systems.
October 2010New very long chain fatty acid seed oils produced through introduction of strategic genes into Brassica carinata
For the emerging global bioeconomy, crop development and enhancement of species diversity are essential. Equally important is maximizing crop value through total crop utilization. We are developing Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) as a biorefinery and bioindustrial oils crop platform using traditional and molecular breeding techniques and tools (see review by Taylor et al., 2010).
September 2010Questioning the virginity of olive oils
Is a significant percentage of olive oil labeled as “extra virgin” and imported into the United States for retail sale out of spec with international and US standards?
September 2010Surfactants based on monounsaturated fatty acids for enhanced oil recovery
Recent estimates for the amount of surfactant necessary to meet projected enhanced oil recovery demand indicate that this volume would rival the current use of surfactants in detergents. In part one of a series, Paul Berger details how monounsaturated fatty acids could be used to help meet this demand.
August 2010Keeping up with detergent chemistry
The detergent industry is highly competitive, mostly recession proof, and, thanks to chemistry, always changing ever so slightly. It has been years, however, since cleaning chemistry has been the driving force in detergent innovation. Instead, the environment rules in laundry rooms and kitchens.
August 2010Dietary guidelines report released
The Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 was released in June by the US Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services.
July 2010Degumming revisited
In 1992, during the AOCS World Conference in Budapest (Dijkstra, 1993), I launched the enzymatic degumming process EnzyMax® on behalf of Lurgi, the company that had developed this process.
July 2010News from the Expo floor
Sustainability, the recession, and challenges to the biodiesel industry were three major topics raised by a number of exhibitors at the 101st AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, May 16–19, 2010.
June 2010AOCS 2.0 debuts
A drum roll, please: The new AOCS web experience, otherwise known as AOCS 2.0, debuted in early May. The unveiling followed more than a year of extraordinary efforts by all members of the AOCS staff, led by AOCS Web Strategy Manager Amy Lopez.
June 2010First high-GLA safflower oil on market
The first high-GLA safflower oil has reached the market at commercial scale after six years of research and development work by Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (Davis, California, USA).
May 2010Palm fatty acid distillate biodiesel: Next-generation palm biodiesel
The promise of alternative low-cost non-food feedstocks such as jatropha has yet to materialize, and there seems to be, at the current moment, no light at the end of the tunnel in the search for low-cost feedstock alternatives.
May 2010Palm oil pundit speaks
Dorab E. Mistry, director of Godrej International Ltd. in Mumbai, India, spoke about palm oil on March 15, 2010, during the 2010 Annual Convention of the National Institute of Oilseed Products in Palm Springs, California, USA.
April 2010The ultra-low-linolenic soybean market
Does the failure of Asoyia Inc., the Iowa-based company that marketed 1% ultra-low-linolenic soybeans and soy oil, signal the beginning of the end for the ultra-low-linolenic soy oil market in the United States?
April 2010What is unrefined, extra virgin cold-pressed avocado oil?
The high oil content of the avocado fruit (Persea americana Mill.) has been known since Aztec times, with the fruit sometimes referred to as "vegetable butter" or "butter pear."
March 2010Hempseed oil in a nutshell
Industrial hemp is as a class of non-drug Cannabis sativa varieties, and hempseed is technically an achene, or nut. Both the seed and hemp's tall stalk provide significant carbohydrate feedstocks for a wide variety of industrial purposes in several countries.
March 2010Dealing with the media: A cautionary tale
Go to the Turner Classic Movies website and you will find this statement: "We have the following four movies starring Larry Johnson available."
February 2010Q&A with Bill Christie
Catherine Watkins, associate editor of inform, recently posed a series of questions to the creator of The Lipid Library, William W. Christie
February 2010Giants of the Past: Hermann Pardun (1908-2009)
Who was this German oil and lecithin pioneer, and how did his inventions change the lecithin world?
January 2010Update on Jatropha
Inedible oil from the seeds of Jatropha curcas is reputedly a wonder crop for biofuels in the middle latitudes of the globe (~30°N to ~30°S) because (i) it is not a source of food, (ii) it can be home-grown, reducing or eliminating the need to import petroleum-based fuels
January 2010Unique properties of carbon dioxide-expanded lipids
Stricter environmental laws related to the use of organic solvents in many areas of the fats and oils industry have stimulated the search for sustainable technologies for lipid processing. Furthermore, as consumers demand "natural" products, the use of potentially toxic solvents in various production processes is being scrutinized
December 2009The market situation and political framework in Germany for biodiesel and vegetable oil
The final details compiled by the Federal Statistics Office and Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) confirmed the drop in sales of biodiesel and vegetable oil in Germany in 2008 in comparison to 2007. Although utilization of biodiesel as an admixture component in fossil diesel fuel increased by 190,000
December 2009Industrial oil crops-when will they finally deliver on their promise ?
In 2008, worldwide-traded oil production from crop plants was almost 130 million metric tons (MMT), mostly used as edible vegetable oil. The proportion of plant oils used for nonedible or industrial purposes has fluctuated as petroleum and coal feedstocks incre asingly competed with plant oils as sources of hydrocarbon-based products such as polymers, lubricants, fine chemicals, and fuels.
November 2009Kao suspends DAG oil shipments
On September 16, Kao Corp. suspended shipments in Japan of its 59 diacylglycerol (DAG) oil-based products, citing the presence of glycidol esters
November 2009Chemically enhanced oil recovery stages a comeback
Nobody knows how much petroleum is left in the ground; estimates range from one trillion to four trillion barrels. Current global production of petroleum is about 85 million barrels/day (bbl/d), or more than 30 billion bbl/year. OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) expects demand by developing countries to increase global production to 107 million bbl/d by 2030.
October 2009Field-portable mass spectrometers for onsite analytics: What's next?
The need for rapid, onsite chemical analyses is as apparent as it has ever been, especially for compounds detrimental to health or to the environment, such as toxic industrial species, explosives, chemical warfare agents, and environmental toxins.
September 2009Melamine analysis at the forefront
Recent food safety scares involving melamine have put the development of new standards and methods for protein detection on the fast track
September 2009To make biofuels, or not to make biofuels:That is the question.
In the past five years or so, opinion regarding the manufacture of biofuels has swung between approval and disapproval, and back again. First-generation fuels in particular, which are made from materials that can also serve as human or animal food, were initially praised, but then castigated
August 2009Global oil yields: Have we got it seriously wrong?
Up to now, most oilseed crop specialists have assumed that one metric ton (MT) per hectare (1MT/ha) was a pretty good ballpark figure for average oil yields from annual oilseed crops such as canola or sunflower.
August 2009Omega-3 fatty acid profiling and dietary forensics
The following article is based on the address given by Ken D. Stark, the 2009 AOCS Young Scientist Research Award winner, at the 100th AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo, held in Orlando, Florida, USA, May 3-6.
July 2009Oilseeds of the future part 3
The final collection of questionnaire responses in a series of three articles highlighting trait-modified oilseeds in the global R&D pipeline concludes with a look at work in safflower, soy, and sunflower. Catherine Watkins
July 2009The rise and fall of surfactants lore
Significant changes have occurred in the surfacThe rise and fall of surfactants lore tants industry in the past 30 years, both in terms of what we consider to be important and in the paradigms that we operate under. The following discussion highlights my view of the significant changes that have occurred and is based entirely on my experience, recollection, and opinion.
June 2009Codex Alimentarius Commission update
AOCS Technical Director Richard Cantrill attended recent meetings of two Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) committees that deal with issues of interest to the fats and oils industry. Topics discussed included work to update the standard on named vegetable oils, amendments to the standard on olive oil, the code of practice for the storage and transport of edible fats and oils in bulk
June 2009Oilseeds of the future: Part 2
inform's examination of some of the trait-modified oilseeds currently in research and development pipelines around the world continues with this month's look at work in cottonseed, flax, and oil palm.
May 2009Oilseeds of the future: Part 1
To find out about some of the modified oilseeds working their way through the research and development pipeline, inform recently solicited information from a variety of companies and research institutions via an e-mailed questionnaire. CANOLA/ RAPESEED/ MUSTARD (Brassicaceae)
May 2009Raw material sources for the long-chain omega-3 market:Trends and sustainability. Part 3.
When you think you have successfully developed an oil with the correct omega-3 configuration, in a volume that meets your needs, you will then be faced with another up-and-coming barrier: sustainability of the raw materials. This ties in with the headlines mentioned in part 1 of this report (inform 20:178-181, 2009).
April 2009Chloroesters in foods: An emerging issue
The detection, in some foods and vegetable oils, of fatty acid esters of the contaminant known as 3-MCPD is an emerging issue for food and vegetable oil processors
April 2009Raw material sources for the long-chain omega-3 market: Trends and sustainability. Part 2.
A recent report from the Global Organization for EPA and DHA (GOED 2008, where EPA is eicosapentaenoic acid and DHA is docosahexaenoic acid) indicates that the omega-3 market has reached $13 billion. Actually, about $180 million covers raw materials, $1.28 billion covers refined oils and concentrates, and $13.1 billion covers consumer products. The structure of the omega-3 fish oil market is somewhat complex, with many companies and many joint ventures and/or strategic alliances involved at various layers within the industry.
March 2009Raw material sources for the long-chain omega-3 market:Trends and sustainability. Part 1.
The scientific and popular press is awash in headlines and articles depicting the impending collapse of the global wild fisheries. Headlines such as "Oceans in Peril," "Ocean Life Fading, What Can Be Done?" "The Fishing Catastrophe and What We Can Do About It," "SOS for Fading Ocean Life," "Tuvalu About to Disappear into the Ocean," "SOS for Fading Ocean Life," and "Ocean Time Bomb" are just a few examples. In more recent times, attention is being paid to the pelagic fisheries with such headlines as "Eating Smelly Fish Could Save Endangered Species," "Most Fish Goes into Animal Feed," "Our Oceans Overfished to Feed Pigs," and "Pets Eating into Fish Stocks." One report has indicated that the oceans will be empty by 2048.
March 2009Synthetic HDL created
Scientists at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois, USA) have created a promising new weapon-synthetic high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the "good" cholesterol-that could help fight chronically high cholesterol levels.
February 2009Carbon management 101:
A conversation with Eric Jackson Through their work, the two clarify the complexities of the emerging carbon markets and help companies identify and manage carbon risks and opportunities. inform's Catherine Watkins recently talked with Jackson about the basics of carbon management.
February 2009A convenient way to increase legume intake
Until about 15 years ago, soyfoods were popular only with vegetarians and other health-conscious individuals. But with a growing body of research on the health benefits of these foods, mainstream consumers are now embracing them as well. And in response to demand, conventional grocery stores are just as likely as food co-operatives and health food markets to offer these foods.
January 2009Vitamin E’s safety controversy
One of the strongest examples today of science no longer being self-correcting is the overblown controversy over the safety of vitamin E formulas. This vitamin actually has eight compounds associated with it in the diet: four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Strictly, vitamin E is only alpha-tocopherol (?-tocopherol; 1 mg = 1.49 IU, international units), whereas these isomers are collectively known as “vitamin E complex.”
January 2009Universal mechanism of aging uncovered?
Researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS: Boston, USA) have discovered that DNA damage decreases a cell’s ability to regulate which genes are turned on and off in particular settings. This mechanism, which applies both to fungi and to humans, might represent a universal culprit for aging.
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