AHA Recommendations and USFDA Legislated Health Claims Achieved By Partnering Palm and Soybean Oils
by Kalyana Sundram & Yusof Basiron

Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), 2nd Floor Wisma Sawit, Lot 6, SS6 Jalan Perbandaran, 47301 Kelana Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
E-mail: kalyana@mpoc.org.my, yusof@mpoc.org.my

Palm Oil as Part of the AHA Step-1 Diet

In 1996 however, the itch to make palm oil fit into the AHA Step-1 diet was put to the test. Sundram et al demonstrated that up to 50% palm oil / olein when combined with liquid oils could provide the prescribed distribution of fatty acids without the burden of TFA. When the palm-based blend was evaluated in a randomized clinical trial, the surprising outcome was a significant increase in the beneficial HDL-cholesterol and a significant improvement in the LDL/HDL-cholesterol ratio following the consumption of the palm based AHA Step-1 diet. The results from the clinical study and other subsequent studies proved so intriguing that a series of health patents were successfully filed for and granted by the US patent office for increasing HDL-C and improving the cholesterol ratio.

The patent claims were quickly brought to the market place through the innovative marketing efforts of Great Foods of America, Inc. (GFA) under the brand name of Smart BalanceR. This has currently become a household name throughout the USA, emerging as the most exciting health margarine and spread formulations in the US supermarkets, while boldly claiming “Patented To Improve the Cholesterol Ratio”. Sales of Smart Balance are currently on a upward trend propelled not only by its patented claim but also the fact that this product is probably the only genuine and original trans-free formulation made with unmodified natural oils and fat with a final objective of a balance fatty acid composition as recommended in the AHA Step-1 diet.

The US food industry is possibly the most highly regulated entity within the global food industry and policed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Stringent regulations govern and safeguard the American consumer, ensuring a food supply that is of the highest quality. The FDA also safeguards the consumer against false or misleading health claims within the US food supply. In the very midst of such stringent safeguards, the patented claims of Smart Balance have been allowed after proper scrutiny of the facts engrained within the various US patents granted.

What does this signal for palm oil as a potential replacement for hydrogenated fats? At the recent American Heart Association Trans Fat Conference (9-11 October 2006, Washington, DC) the consensus opinion was to reduce and eliminate TFA. However, this objective appears easier mandated that realized by the American food industry. One of the biggest stumbling blocks was the acceptance of what could be conceived as a healthy alternate to hydrogenated fats. The AHA made this more difficult by insisting that TFA containing foods when reformulated should target to reduce not only TFA but also the saturated fat content. They were not prepared to endorse direct TFA substitution but insisted that the TFA + Saturates content in the new product should be lower that the TFA content in the original product.

Here is thus a potential conflict between what is recommended by the AHA as opposed to that which is legislated by the FDA with respect to TFA content in foods. If we take the Smart Balance concept as the preferred road towards trans elimination, this has two major advantages. Current efforts to find alternatives focus on using newer oilseed varieties that will yield oils which are higher in stearic acid to be used in solid fats; high oleic and reduced linolenic acid oils for frying applications. Well, these have their strengths and weaknesses but are also troubled by a lack of assured supply. Estimates from the seed producers themselves warn that it would be at least three years from the first commitment for seed purchases to the time the oil is made available to the end user (food manufacturer included). Does this mean that despite all the blaring alarm bells, the American industries are prepared to endanger the health of their consumers by continuing to not actively replace TFA while making excuses about possible solutions that are already at hand.