Human milk fat substitute from butterfat: production by enzymatic interesterification and evaluation of oxidative stability

Recent data have suggested that the fatty acid composition and molecular structure of fats in infant formulas should be as similar to human milk fat as possible to obtain optimal fat and calcium absorption from the infant formula. This work investigated the possibilities of using enzyme technology and butterfat as a material to produce a fat similar to human milk fat with respect to the above parameters.

Moreover, the oxidative stability of the enzyme modified human milk fat substitute (HMFS) was compared to the fat blend used for the production of HMFS. Using a combination of enzyme technology, fractionation and batch deodorization and with butterfat in combination with soybean oil and rapeseed oil as raw materials it was possible to produce HMFS with a molecular structure and fatty acid composition that was very similar to that of human milk fat.

The oxidative stability of the HMFS oil was lower than that of the reference oil with the same fatty acid composition. However, oxidation did not lead to a severe increase in rancidity scores during storage. Rather, the panel gave high intensity scores for other off-flavors such as burnt and bitter.

Further optimization of the deodorization process is therefore necessary to remove these off-flavors.