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Swiss fats specialist Nutriswiss has developed a new process designed to preserve valuable nutrients in fats and oils, as well as improving their stability and purity.

According to the company, its distillation technology innovation produces raffinates with a higher vitamin content and better shelf life than conventional deodorisation techniques.

Tocopherols, commonly known as vitamin E, are categorised into four forms: α- and β-tocopherols provide the highest vitamin functionality, while γ- and δ-tocopherols have a low vitamin content but strong antioxidant properties. All four forms are present in vegetable oils in varying concentrations.

During refining, some of these natural vitamins and antioxidants are degraded or removed. While mild distillation also reduces these nutrients, it is gentler on the product than deodorisation. Nutriswiss highlighted that while tocopherols are lost through separation or oxidation, it is possible to regenerate or even increase tocopherol content with careful processing.

While previously, up to 50% of tocopherols were lost and no longer present in the end product, Nutriswiss said it can now achieve zero or significantly lower losses.

Frank Möllering, head of R&D at Nutriswiss, said: “Our optimised process shows positive results with all oils and that is a clear technological advantage for us. By considering differing raw material properties and managing the balancing act between weak and intensive treatment, we have succeeded in retaining higher levels of natural vitamin E and removing undesirable substances without compromising the stability of the end product.”

The company believes this technological advancement could address challenges in refining lipids for applications such as infant formula, where the protection of valuable ingredients such as vitamin E and unsaturated fatty acids is particularly important – furthermore, raw materials must meet strict specifications relating to quality and harmful substances in this category.

The technology is well-suited to sensitive raw materials such as omega-3 rich seed oils, including rapeseed and linseed, as well as algae and other speciality oils.

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