Chemical and Enzymatic Interesterification for Food Lipid Production: An Introduction

Due to the growing concern about the recurrent consumption of trans-fatty acids and their adverse effects on health, interesterification has emerged as an alternative technology for the production of zero trans-fats, as well as lipids with improved technological, functional, and/or nutraceutical characteristics in the food industry. In the interesterification reaction, the position of fatty acids in the glycerol molecule is rearranged simultaneously, forming new bonds through chemical interesterification, which uses chemical catalysts and is entirely random, or through enzymatic interesterification, with lipases as catalysts. This chapter presents synthesis for structured lipids produced by chemical and enzymatic interesterification and their catalyzed reaction mechanism, aiming to understand their production process, their applications, and limitations and what is being offered in the market as an alternative to partially hydrogenated fats.