HOW FLORA IS MADE

Vegetable oils are excellent sources of monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids (both omega 3 and omega 6) and vitamin E. Interestingly, vegetable oils with the highest levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids are also the richest sources of vitamin E.

The vegetable oils used for margarine production are mainly obtained from sunflower seeds and canola, palm fruit and palm kernel. Olive oil is used for olive variants. There are many reasons why certain oils are used in margarine manufacturing some these include the desired nutritional and physical properties of the end product.

Sunflower Oil

Sunflower oil is extracted from sunflower seeds obtained from the brown hub in the centre of the flower, with the nice yellow petals surrounding it. Sunflowers are grown in areas of Europe, Russia, North and South America and Australia. Sunflower oil has a light yellow colour and a mild flavour and is rich in vitamin E. Sunflower oil is high in polyunsaturated fat and reduced in saturated fat.

Canola Oil

Canola is the commercial name for edible oil that is obtained from a hybrid variety of rapeseed. Bright yellow Canola crops can be spotted in fields in many parts of Europe, North America and Australia. Canola has the lowest level of saturated fat of any edible oil, it is rich in monounsaturated fatty acid and has a high content of omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Because it is inexpensive and mild flavoured, refined canola oil is often used for cooking or baking, or as an ingredient for salad dressings.

Palm Oil / Palm-Kernel Oil

The oil palm yields two types of edible oil. Palm-kernel oil is extracted from the kernel and has a light yellow colour and a milder flavour than palm oil which comes from the fruit. Palm oil and palm kernel oil both have a relatively high saturated fatty acid contents, making them hard fats. They are added in small amounts to liquid vegetable oils to optimise the spreading properties in margarine manufacturing.

Margarine Spread Production

1. Vegetable oils are pressed and extracted from oil crops (sunflower, canola and palm) and refined
2. Spreads ingredients such as betacarotene are added to the vegetable oils for a golden colour, flavours to make it tasty, emulsifiers extracted from vegetable oils to guarantee a homogeneous mixture and vitamins making it even more nutritious.
3. The oil phase is then mixed with water which contains milk powder and salt.
4. This mixture is pasteurised (like many food products, e.g. milk) and then chilled and kneaded to form the final desired consistency.
5. The Flora spreads are then packed in tubs and kept refrigerated until they reach your table.

See the below diagram for an illustration of typical spread production.



Generally speaking, the softer a fat, the better it is for you. This is due to the fat composition of the product: the more 'bad' saturated fat it contains, the harder it is, the more 'good' unsaturated fat it contains, the better it is. That's why dietitians recommend vegetable oils such as sunflower oil and margarine spreads over butter.

In Australia, margarine is fortified with vitamin D by law. While vitamin A deficiency is no longer seen as an issue in Australia, most manufacturers continue to add this vitamin. Beta carotene is usually added to give margarine its colour. These are effectively converted in the body into vitamin A and thus contribute to the vitamin A intake.

Oil hardening

Via a process called hydrogenation, harder fats with the desired properties can be produced from liquid oils. Unlike butter which has naturally occurring trans fatty acids, modern margarine manufacturing methods result in products virtually free of trans fatty acids. The potential negative health implications of trans fatty acids have been known since the early 1990's. Since then, Flora has used hard fats that are processed by state of the art technology that results in virtually trans fat free products (a combination of full hydrogenation, fractionation and rearrangement of the fatty acids on the triglycerides).