History of margarine: In 1813, the French chemist Michel-Eugène Chevreul thought of discovering a new molecule, while he was working on the products of the hydrolysis of lard by potash, which he calls margaric acid. Then, the German chemist Franz Varrentrapp (1815-1877) studied it, under the orders of Justus von Liebig but abandons his work.
La margarines was developed in France following a competition launched in 1869 by Napoleon III for the search for a "fatty substance similar to butter, but of lower price, able to be kept for a long time without deteriorating while retaining its nutritional value”. At a time when butter was expensive, rare and did not keep well, it was a question of "discovering a product capable of replacing ordinary butter for the navy and for less well-off social classes". The French pharmacist Mege-Mouries made a emulsion white resulting from fat de beef fractional, of milk andwater, baptized "margarine", a word coined from the Greek μάργαρον, márgaron ("pearl white") and the ending of the word glycerine. The patent was filed in 1872 and the marketing of margarine then developed. In France, the product takes badly with consumers. The patent was bought in 1878 by two Dutch industrialists, Pieter-Eduard Leverd and Antoon Jurgens.
The progress of science at the beginning of the XNUMXth century and in particular the discovery of the processes ofhydrogenation oils, will make it possible on the one hand to discover that margaric acid is not a pure compound, but in fact a mixture of palmitic acid and stearic acid, and on the other hand, to use the oils and vegetable fats in the manufacture of margarines to compensate for the lack of availability of beef fat, thus lowering manufacturing costs. Margarine today is very different from its ancestor born in 1869 and against which the culinary works of the time soon warned against which one could find this kind of description: "Oleo-margarine is an artificial butter produced by beef fat or tallow ground, then heated. This solid, colored residue, churned with milk, constitutes oleo-margarine”. Oleo-margarine also became the syntagm (*) used in the United States. The exclusive use of vegetable fats was effective from the end of the XNUMXth century.
(*) Syntagm: Group of morphemes or words that follow each other with a meaning.
Contrary to butter, a dairy product, obtained exclusively from pasteurized, frozen or deep-frozen creams, the fatty phase of margarine is composed mainly of vegetable oils with the addition of concrete fats.
The texture and nutritional value of margarine condition the formulations of oils or concrete fats used today. Indeed, the nature of vegetable oils (sunflower, rapeseed, olive) provide a balanced ratio of omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids, recommended by theANSES. It is essential to combine it with concrete fats of animal origin such as butter, or of vegetable origin such as copra, palm kernel or shea, making it possible to structure margarine and provide the techno-functional properties required by industrial operations.
Composition of a margarine / butter: At the time of “nutritionally correct” food, France is no exception to the European trend of reducing its consumption of fat. Butter remains the main fatty substance purchased by French households, ahead of margarines and reduced fats. In addition to the characteristic taste and the content of vitamins A and D, butter contains a high proportion of saturated fatty acids and a more or less hard texture depending on the season. Faced with this emulsion of dairy origin only obtained from pasteurized, frozen or deep-frozen creams, today's margarines make it possible to provide a targeted texture, depending on the mixtures of concrete oils and fats, while reducing the proportion of saturated fatty acids.
Some margarines are currently formulated without the use of palm oil. They also make it possible to take into account the energy contribution and the practicality (hardness at the exit of the fridge) by offering different formulas with reduced fat content. Butter has had to adapt to this development by in turn offering "fridge-spreadable" butters obtained by fractional crystallization. But the major interest of margarines lies in the possibility of choosing the different lipid sources entering into its composition allowing us to supplement our diet with polyunsaturated fatty acids of the series omega-3, still in deficit despite the recommendations of the national authorities. The market has undergone a major structural transformation over the past fifteen years. In 2000, 93% of the products found on the shelves were traditional or light margarines and only 8% carried a “health claim”. The proportion then reversed, in 2014 63% claim “health” or “nutrition” qualities.
Margarines, like butters, are used in pastries, biscuits, bakeries or by the consumer as spreadable fats or for cooking. "Margarine" refers to "products in the form of a solid and malleable emulsion, mainly of the water-in-fat type, derived from solid and/or liquid vegetable and/or animal fats suitable for human consumption whose fat content of milk origin does not exceed 3 % of the fat content fat »
Composition of the fatty phase: The composition of the fatty phase depends on its use and the fat content which varies on average between 50 and 70% with a proportion in saturated fatty acids (AGS) which makes it possible to obtain the desired consistency. Indeed, "light" margarines are currently more popular because of their nutritional value and the presence ofpolyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) provided by certain vegetable oils giving them a “health” benefit.
Formulations resulting from mixtures of oils and concrete fats make it possible to obtain interesting physico-chemical properties in terms of the melting point of the triglycerides which influence the melting in the mouth of the products. The "crystallized fat to liquid fat" ratio, called Solid Fat Content and measured according to standard NF EN ISO 8292-1, gives an idea of crystallization and the different textures that can be obtain according to the needs sought8.
Vegetable oils: Vegetable oils are the fatty substances resulting from the trituration of seeds or fruits of plants. They are composed of 98% triglycerides, which depending on their nature and proportion, induce the properties of the oil, in particular the melting point. Oils can be liquid at room temperature, i.e. with a low melting point (such as rapeseed, corn
peanut, soybean, sunflower…) or concrete, these are the coconut oils, palm or palm kernel. Depending on the cost price sought and the technological specificities expected of the margarine, the formulator chooses the various components of the fatty phase and their proportions according to an essential property, the melting kinetics. Indeed, the fat being a balance of solid and liquid fractions, during the formulation, we study the evolution of the proportion of these fractions according to the temperature to establish a kind of identity card of the fatty phase.
Composition of the aqueous phase: These lipids consisting mainly of triglycerides are emulsified with an aqueous phase consisting of water, with or without added milk or milk proteins. The water, if used, must have a pH around 6 and must not contain iron or manganese salts, agents that promote oxidation, so it is first treated and filtered. As far as milk is concerned, it is only used in premium quality margarines with high added value.
Margarine manufacturing process: The principle of margarine manufacturing is based on the emulsion of water in oil. The lipid phase (essentially made up of vegetable fats) constitutes the continuous phase in which is included the dispersed phase (containing various additives and ingredients): water or milk.
– Mixing and emulsion: The two phases (aqueous and lipid) are brought together. The emulsion is done by stirring. The aqueous phase is included in the continuous lipid phase. The stirring time makes it possible to obtain a dispersed phase composed of increasingly fine bubbles. The emulsion is stabilized by the emulsifiers which are placed at the water/oil interface, and maintain the structure thanks to their amphiphilic nature (that is to say lipophilic and lipophobic).
The evolution tends towards continuous processes, where the phases are emulsified continuously. If a problem occurs, production is stopped, and only a small volume of product in process is discarded. Several possibilities are offered to manufacturers today by equipment manufacturers:
either the phases are stored in large tanks and mixed in a small capacity buffer tank (semi-continuous process); or the mixture is done directly with a system of pumps.
– Cooling and crystallization: These two steps are often coupled. Once the emulsion is made, it must be maintained in a durable manner and thus complete the action of the emulsifiers. For this, the mixture is cooled (to theliquid nitrogen often by heat exchange). Cooling to very low temperature allows the crystallization of the fatty phase. The formation of crystals leads to better maintenance of the structure of the margarine. Again, there is a certain diversity of machines, but all based on the same principle. Only the technical specifications vary.
– Packaging: Once cooled and crystallized, the margarine is pumped using high-pressure pumps, then packaged. There are two types of packaging for margarine:
– in a PVC tray;
– aluminum foil.
Depending on the type of packaging, the equipment will be different. Moreover, it is at this stage that the product samples necessary for the quality control of the finished product are taken.
Application of margarines in industry: The advantage of using margarines in industry is linked to the variety of textures specific to the different applications found in the field of pastry and Viennese pastries. If the fillings and fillings of cakes require a fat allowing expansion, the use of concrete fat such as copra is preferred, unlike applications such as "incorporation" which requires a relatively low consistency of fat for good dispersion in the dough. As for the "lamination", the margarine must have a rather plastic texture allowing the formation of a homogeneous film during the "lamination" operation. The crystallization characteristics and the SFC profile of the lipid formulations are decisive.
At this stage, it is important to take into account the notion of fatty acid polymorphisms of the different lipid sources used in margarine formulations. During the cooling process, the cooling rate will lead to different crystallizations of fatty acids in different crystal forms. If the cooling is rapid, the α form will be favored unlike the β form obtained during very slow cooling. The α and β' forms are favored for their plastic properties, particularly in bakery-pastry making.
"Health" claim of margarines: Ashok R. Patel and his collaborators (2016) summarize the current needs for lipids and saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (EPA, DHA), as well as the consumption in trans fatty acids. In the human diet, today's margarines can act as a vector of essential fatty acids, essential fatty acids, but also provide vitamin (A, D) or antioxidant supplements.
Soybean, corn and sunflower oils are mainly composed of fatty acids from the omega 6 series which are already strongly present in our diet (recognized as atherogenic and pro-inflammatory in the event of excessive consumption). Today's margarines tend to limit their use in current formulas favoring the use of oils richer in omega 3 series fatty acids to try and restore the omega 3 to omega 6 ratio. polyunsaturated fatty acids of the omega 3 series such as alpha-linolenic acid (essential fatty acid to be provided by food) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; essential fatty acid), recognized by international bodies (EFSA, ANSES) , may currently be present in some margarine formulations. For many years, studies have tried to incorporate fish oils into margarines to enrich them with EPA and DHA, the leaders of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, but the presence of fish odor does not allow attract consumers to this type of product.
Today, the use of algal oil rich in DHA makes it possible to offer a new generation of margarine enriched with PUFA-LC, with recognized "health" claims "contributing to the maintenance of normal vision and the proper functioning of the brain” (EU claim No 432/2012). In fact, the daily requirements for EPA (250 mg) and DHA (250 mg) recommended by ANSES are generally provided by the consumption of oily fish recommended once or twice a week. However, the French population, like Western countries, consumes little fish unlike Asian populations and daily supplementation with LC-PUFAs from the omega 3 series is a good thing, from a nutritional point of view.
Some margarines are fortified with phytosterols (natural compounds found in plants) and phytostanols (less susceptible to oxidation due to less double bond compared to phytosterols) due to their notable blood cholesterol lowering effects . Work on the stability of these compounds present in margarines at 4°C and 20°C for 18 weeks shows a slight reduction in phytosterols with a more marked degradation for phytostanols into oxidized products, despite the fact that they have a less unsaturation14. It is therefore important to properly store margarines enriched with phytosterols and phytostanols at 4°C. However, their preventive action on cardiovascular diseases has not yet been demonstrated (ANSES.
A study by Sopelana et al. (2016) on the baking stability (180°C) of phytosterols present in margarines with different fat contents shows that phytosterols protect margarines from oxidation reactions by limiting the appearance of secondary oxidation products such as aldehydes, epoxides and alcohols. It seems that the fat/aqueous phase ratio plays an important role in promoting oxidation reactions for low lipid concentrations.
It is important to note that the use of trans fatty acids in margarines has evolved over the past fifteen years with a desire to completely eliminate these fatty acids. Indeed, these trans fatty acids, responsible for increasing the circulation of low density lipoproteins (or LDL for low density lipoprotein in English) and therefore increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, have prompted the authorities of many countries to reduce or even ban the presence of these compounds in food. A study by DeAnn et al. (2016) takes up 32 clinical studies in order to detect possible correlations between the presence of trans fatty acids found at different concentrations and the increase in LDL. The conclusions show weak correlations on the consumption of trans fatty acids and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The results of a meta-analysis on the effects of trans fatty acids on LDL do not seem to show any impact for trans fatty acid consumption below 3% of total intake (Bruce et al., 2016). In France, ANSES set a maximum threshold for trans fatty acid intake at 2% of TEI, regardless of age and sex, for both children and adults in 2005 and maintained in 2008. It encourages efforts to reduce the use of these trans fatty acids already implemented by professionals, both in human and animal food, in order to reduce the risk of exposure. In 2005, the AFSSA retained the threshold of 1% of total trans fatty acids as the maximum acceptable content in margarines (AFSSA, 2005, 2009). These trans fatty acids are no longer present in today's margarines, except at less than 1% 21 unlike thirty years ago when they were present in large proportion (10 – 20%) in margarine hydrogenated, widely used for economic and industrial reasons. It should be noted that milk fat also contains small amounts of trans fatty acids, isomers of conjugated linoleic acid commonly called CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) (Siurana and Calsamiglia, 2016).
Some studies tend to reduce the salt content in margarines by adding spices, which at the same time provide protection against oxidation reactions (de Oliveira Lopes et al., 2014). Indeed, high salt consumption contributes to the development of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The leading cause of death worldwide, hypertension affects nearly 25% of the adult population today and nearly 60% in 2025.
Additives Added to Margarine: Some additives and processing aids are used in the manufacture of margarine. These are dyes (carotenoids, annatto, bixin, norbixin, curcumin) authorized according to the decree of October 2, 1997, flavourings, vitamins, antioxidants, salt, pH regulator, lactic acid, citric acid, thickener.
The addition of surfactants (lecithin, mono and di-glycerides) or the presence of raw materials containing them naturally is essential to stabilize the emulsion thus formed.
| Emulsifying agents | The two phases of margarine being immiscible, it is difficult to mix them and especially to keep this mixture stable. This is due to hydrophobic interaction forces that thermodynamically make mixing impossible. This is why the use of emulsifiers is important since these molecules will make it possible to lower the forces, to reduce the work necessary for the formation of a stable mixture. This stability is then ensured by crystallization. Thanks to the emulsifiers, the margarine acquires its consistency which is hard enough at room temperature but soft enough to be spread. The most commonly added are the soy lecithin or mono and di-glycerides of fatty acids. |
| Aroma | In order to improve the organoleptic properties of margarine, the addition of flavored milk or butter is commonly used during the manufacturing process. |
| dyes |
The color sought in the margarine industry is that of butter, ie a yellow-orange color of carotene. For this, we add to the fatty phase beta-carotenes or we use those that are directly contained in thePalm oil because margarine is white in color if no coloring is added during the manufacturing process, hence its name “white pearl”.
Some states in the United States of America have banned the addition of coloring to margarine. The dye was sold separately, the mixing taking place at the end consumer. |
| Salt | Salt contributes to the protection of the product against microbiological deterioration and at the same time to improve the palatability of the margarine for consumption. |
| Vitamins | The addition of vitamins also enhances the dietary properties of margarine. For this purpose, mainly fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A and vitamin D2 are used. The vitamin E content of vegetable oils is generally sufficient. |
| Acidity corrector | For good preservation, the pH must be kept within a range between 4 and 5,5. To do this, citric or lactic acid and their sodium, potassium or calcium salts are used. |
| conservatives | For conservation, the use of sorbic acid is usual. Indeed, sorbic acid is active against the development of yeasts and molds and to a lesser degree bacteria. Its spectrum of action is wide. However, it does not cover all microorganisms. In order to extend the spectrum of action and therefore to limit the growth of micro-organisms, it is combined with its sodium or potash salts. |
Economy of margarine: With 129 million euros in turnover in 2017/2018, a third of the French margarine market would be held by Saint-Hubert, a company acquired by Fosun and Sanyuan.