The Oils and Fats Laboratory (LOG), linked to the Faculty of Food Engineering (FEA) at Unicamp, is celebrating 30 years of existence with an event to discuss future scenarios for the area. The “International Symposium on Oils and Fats for the Future: Next Decade”, held over two days, ends this Thursday (04), in one of the auditoriums of the Vitória Hotel Concept in Campinas.
Professor Daniel Barrera Arellano, one of the founders of the Laboratory, highlights that researchers in the area are concerned, above all, with generating technologies for the use of healthier fats by industries, with the reduction of saturates. “We are debating here which oils will be used, what we will research and with what equipment and analysis methods.”
Arellano reflected on the growth of research in the area and the responsibility of the Unicamp laboratory in generating knowledge and technology in oils and fats. The current head of LOG, Ana Paula Badan, highlighted that the laboratory is a reference in Brazil in studies in the area and a center aimed at the production sector. There is also a concern about disseminating knowledge with events for the general public.
“At the symposium we discussed the oilseeds and ingredients market for the oils and fats industry. We have a special session on new technologies and research, debates on sustainable and environmentally friendly processes, expectations in nutrition and analytical techniques that will guide the future of oils and fats”, says the professor.
There were, according to her, two important cycles of work in the past in relation to research into oils and fats. First came the concern about reducing trans fats present in processed foods. This cycle was recently being completed with new legislation. “Our laboratory has already shared with the industry and the production sector all the knowledge we have generated to reduce trans fats.”
The laboratory's second cycle of work began around 10 years ago with research into the oilgels which are potential substitutes for trans fat. “We start from polyunsaturated vegetable oils that are structured like oliogels and have the physical-chemical and technological characteristics of applying a saturated fat. In this sense, the laboratory has already developed a good portfolio of products.” More recently, the exploration of plant sources such as oils from the Amazon or the Cerrado and more sustainable processes are concerns of researchers.
Another novelty presented at the commemorative symposium is the Laboratory's digital transformation project by a company specialized in automation. One of those responsible for the company, Leonardo Fonseca, presented a simulator of the oil crystallization process. “We are bringing the internet of things to the simulation of a process that is one of the main aspects of the laboratory”.
