Health Concerns and Reformulation
In the early 21st century, vegetable shortening became the subject of some health concerns due to its traditional formulation from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils that contain trans fat, as trans fats have been linked to a number of adverse health effects. Consequently, one manufacturer introduced a low trans fat variant in 2004. In January 2007 all products this manufacturer were reformulated to contain less than one gram of trans fat per serving, and the separately marketed trans-fat free version introduced in 2004 was consequently discontinued. In 2006, the other manufacturer was also reformulated to remove trans fats. Non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening can be made from palm oil.
| Total fat | Saturated fat | Monounsaturated fat | Polyunsaturated fat | Smoke point | |
| Sunflower oil | 100g | 11g | 20g | 69g | 225 °C (437 °F) |
| Soybean oil | 100g | 16g | 23g | 58g | 257 °C (495 °F) |
| Olive oil | 100g | 14g | 73g | 11g | 190 °C (374 °F) |
| Corn oil | 100g | 15g | 30g | 55g | 230 °C (446 °F) |
| Peanut oil | 100g | 17g | 46g | 32g | 225 °C (437 °F) |
| Vegetable shortening (hydrogenated) | 71g | 23g (34%) | 8g (11%) | 37g (52%) | 165 °C (329 °F) |
| Lard | 100g | 39g | 45g | 11g | 190 °C (374 °F) |
| Suet | 94g | 52g (55%) | 32g (34%) | 3g (3%) | 200°C (400°F) |
| Butter | 81g | 51g (63%) | 21g (26%) | 3g (4%) | 150 °C (302 °F) |
Read more about this topic: Shortening Famous quotes containing the words health and/or concerns:“A little health now and again is the ailing person’s best remedy.” “New inventions can and will be made; however, nothing new can be thought of that concerns moral man. Everything has already been thought and said which at best we can express in different forms and give new expressions to.” | |||||