Developing Functional Foods Using Red Palm Olein: Pilot-Scale Studies

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Abstract
Red palm olein (RPOL) is newly developed edible oil rich in phytonutrients like vitamin E, carotenoids, ubiquinones, and sterols. Red palm olein and red palm shortening (RPS), when used in the pilot-scale production of extruded snacks, digestive biscuits and pan bread, enhanced the foods' contents of these health-promoting phytochemicals. The antioxidant provitamin A (β-carotene) contents in snacks and digestive biscuits made with RPOL and RPS ranged from 456.3 to 495.9 and 308.3 to 337.8 mg kg−1 fat, respectively. In comparison, the β-carotene contents in snacks made with control palm oil and/or shortening were extremely low, ranging from 10.4 to 62.4 and for digestive biscuits only 12.0 mg kg−1 fat. The results of this study indicate, that antioxidant-rich functional foods such as bread, biscuits, and extruded snacks can be produced using RPOL and RPS.