Hydrogenation of vegetable oil

Hydrogenation of vegetable oil,why?Vegetable oils contain a mix of saturated,monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The mono- and polyunsaturatedfatty acids have double bonds, all in the normal “cis” formation. These bondscan easily be broken down by oxygen. This produces compounds that make the oilrancid. Rancidity produces off-flavors in foods.

Hydrogenation of vegetable oil

To control this, food manufacturers use hydrogenatedvegetable oils. These are not as likely to break down and will produce aproduct with a longer shelf life. Hydrogenation is a chemical process that addshydrogen atoms to the available double bonds in the vegetable oil. As thedegree of hydrogenation increases, the amount of saturated fats increases andmono and polyunsaturated fats decrease. Completely hydrogenated fat is solid atroom temperature. Moderately hydrogenated fats are liquid at room temperatureand contain more saturated fatty acids than the original oil.

Hydrogenation of vegetable oil benefits alot to shelf life, but hydrogenation also brings trans fatty acid, which is badfor human health. We should pay more attention to the content of hydrogenatedvegetable oil.