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Local News This story pubished online:
Thursday, April 22, 2004 12:02 AM CDT

Fat substitute in food receives raves

Herald & Review/Carlos T. Miranda
Sheila Simkaitis, left, and instructor Susan Rippy work on their test product for a food science class at Eastern Illinois University. Rippy's students created recipes used in a blind study testing Z-Trim fat replacement.
CHARLESTON � There are "two perfect things about Z-Trim," a new fat replacement made from corn bran, says James Painter, chairman of family and consumer sciences at Eastern Illinois University.

And those two things have the potential to revolutionize the food industry.

One, Painter said, is that it takes the fat out of foods; and two, it puts fiber into foods. And those are good things, according to the American Heart Association.

Z-Trim is a product of the Circle Group Co., Fibergel Technologies Inc. of Mundelein. The corporation plans to have a manufacturing plant in that Northern Illinois community operational by summer, though some corporations, such as Nestle, are already investigating the use of Z-Trim in their products.

"(Z-Trim) is a revolutionary product that can really make a difference," said Stella Halpern, director of corporate affairs for Fibergel.

"It is a fat replacement, which does not change the taste or texture of the product in which it is used. The taste is like you are eating full-fat flavor.

"It can be used (in anything) from coffee to salad dressing to cookies."

The product was invented by George Inglett, a research chemist at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria. According to a 2003 interview in The Olympian of Olympia, Wash., Inglett feels Z-Trim will add fiber to the American diet and aid in digestion as long as it is eaten in normal quantities.

Painter said Z-Trim should not encounter the same kind of problems as have some other products, such as Simplesse and Olestra. For one thing, Z-Trim is "a natural fiber not changed much in processing. It's almost as natural as any processed food could be.

"It's cellulose," he said

Z-Trim is considered to be a GRAS (research lingo for generally recognized as safe) product by the Food and Drug Administration. It is also considered kosher, Halpern said.

While Painter is optimistic about Z-trim's potential, he also issues caution.

"Look at the history. Once sugar substitutes were introduced (into the American diet), Americans all got heavier," by consuming more of other products he believes.

Dietetic students at Eastern recently gave Z-Trim a blind study scientific testing by creating recipes both with and without the product. More about those tests can be found on the cover of today's Life Section of the Herald & Review.

Arlene Mannlein can be reached at [email protected] or 421-6976.


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