In anticipation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ruling on the GRAS designation of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), global palm oil leader IOI Loders Croklaan is bringing its PHO-free ingredients and reformulation expertise to the IFT14 Expo, to help manufacturers seeking trans-free, non-GMO oils and shortenings for their applications. 

“For decades, we’ve worked alongside our food processing partners to help them reap the benefits of trans-free reformulation while upholding the sensory experiences that their customers expect from their brands,” IOI Loders Croklaan Chief Operating Officer Bill Troy said. “We understand that reformulation is a significant undertaking and have taken proactive measures to make it an easier, faster process for our customers.” 

With the impending ruling from the FDA regarding the GRAS designation of partially hydrogenated oils, IOI Loders Croklaan has launched a website, GO-NO-PHO.com, to specifically feature PHO-free ingredients and help address the food industry’s PHO-free needs.  “We created GO-NO-PHO.com to give the food industry a reliable ingredient and reformulation resource as they navigate the PHO elimination process,” Shellie Kramer, IOI Loders Croklaan Marketing Manager, said.  In addition to bringing its PHO-free-specific resource online, IOI Loders Croklaan has been actively partnering with food processors to reformulate applications to eliminate PHOs. “Reformulation can be time- and resource-intensive – from replication of the sensory experience to adjustment of processing conditions to updating packaging – so we’re seeing a number of food processors who are proactively reformulating in advance of the FDA’s announcement,” Gerald McNeill, PhD, Vice President of Research and Development at IOI Loders Croklaan, said.

“By partnering with our clients at our Creative Studio facility, we’re able to collaboratively develop the best solution for their application needs in the shortest time.” In addition to inviting partners to its Creative Studio in Channahon, Illinois (near Chicago), IOI Loders Croklaan will be showcasing its ingredient solutions and sustainability initiatives at the IFT14 Expo in New Orleans. “The IFT is a great opportunity to let the food industry see what we do best – uphold the sensory experience of delicious foods while eliminating trans fats using sustainable practices,” McNeill said.  While the preliminary FDA announcement has heightened conversation around PHO-free ingredients, consumer conversation has also driven demand for sustainably sourced, non-GMO ingredients and applications. Not only is IOI Loders Croklaan a leader in trans-free ingredients, a majority of its broad portfolio of ingredients is also non-GMO.  “As manufacturers seek to replace partially hydrogenated oils, it’s a great opportunity to simultaneously consider whether non-GMO oils makes sense for their brand,” Kramer said. “Our palm oil ingredients, including our FuseRite colored and flavored shortenings, provide non-GMO, trans-free solutions that deliver from a sensory perspective, as well.” 

A founding member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), IOI Loders Croklaan has the ability to deliver sustainable and traceable palm oil to our customers today.  “We can provide our customers functional, sustainably sourced, non-GMO oils and shortenings,” Kramer said. “The IOI Loders Croklaan Americas facilities are certified to handle both segregated and mass balance supply chains, and we have a traceability program in place for all of the palm oil we source."  With expanded production capacity, a strong sustainability program, and a collaborative R&D-focused Creative Studio, IOI Loders Croklaan is preparing to share its partnership strengths and non-GMO, PHO-free oils and shortenings at IFT14.

For more information, visitors can go to GO-NO-PHO.com or stop by IOI Loders Croklaan booth 3541 at the annual IFT Expo, from June 22-24 in New Orleans.

IOI Loders Croklaan

Oils and fats are our core business, and have been for more than a century. Today, IOI Loders Croklaan is not only a reliable and leading global supplier of commodity and specialty oils and fats, it also offers customers an unprecedented combination of lipids knowledge and application expertise to respond to their specific market needs. As a problem solving, product enhancement, and creative innovation partner, we can add long-term value to business in ways that result in profitable growth to the customer in a wide variety of ways. croklaan.com