Fats & Oils

Oils are used extensively in the foodservice industry, and this section provides a basic overview and comparison of dietary fats and oils. It also provides information on some of the available healthy oil alternatives.

Basic Fat & Oil Information

Not all oils are alike. This section provides information to understand what makes oils different from each other. It also includes a reference chart that shows how the combination of saturated, monounsaturated, and saturated fatty acids give common oils their unique characteristics such as flavor, shelf life, and health attributes.

Dietary Fats

Fats are one of three major categories of essential dietary nutrients. This section describes the different types of dietary fats, their health impact, and recommendations for their daily intake.

The Move to Healthy Oils

The health concerns related to dietary trans fat have prompted wide-sweeping efforts within the foodservice industry to eliminate them. This section discusses the growing number of trans fat-free oils now available to food manufacturers and foodservice operators.

Omega 3,6,9

All fats are made of a combination of fatty acids. This section explains three families of fatty acids: omega-3’s, 6’s, and 9’s, why they are so important to health, how they are related, and what oils contain them.

Trans Fat

Cities, states, and municipalities are moving at an unprecedented rate to require the removal of unhealthy trans fat from prepared food. This section explores what trans fat are, the dietary recommendations for intake are, the health implications, the foodservice implications, and 0 grams versus trans fat-free definitions.

Saturated Fat

Efforts to move away from trans fat have included some substitution with fats containing more saturated fat. This section provides a description of saturated fats, dietary sources, health implications, and dietary recommendations for intake.

Supply and Manufacturing

Much is being done by seed companies to modify the oil produced by oil crops so that it will be heat and shelf stable without hydrogenation, which forms trans fat. This section gives several examples of products and processes that produce stable oils without unwanted hydrogenation.