3M Test Strips
Oil Trends
- Conversion to Trans Fat Free Oils (<.5 g/serving)
- Driven by health trend
- Increasing regulations: California, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, etc.
- Challenges:
- Comparable Quality - Taste/Texture
- Comparable performance - Oil Stability – hydrogenation enhances stability
- Adoption of TFF oil has changed restaurant operations
- It is more difficult to determine TFF oil freshness – oil appears darker, but doesn’tnecessarily mean that oil is not fresh / good; tasting finished foods is the bestindicator of oil freshness*
- TFF oil must be monitored more closely than ‘traditional’ oils; it can breakdownmore rapidly, and its life can be shorter, depending on circumstances.*
Frying Oil Degradation
Many factors affect stability:
- Oil type
- Food type
- Breading type
- Water content
- Cooking time
- Food:Oil ratio
- Temperature fluctuations
- Salt
- Use of additives
- Oil management practices
FFA Overview
- What are Free Fatty Acids (FFAs)?
- FFAs are one of the byproducts formed when frying oil is exposed to heat, oxygen, food moisture and salt
- FFA levels increase as oil degrades
- Why should I monitor FFAs in my frying oil?
- FFA levels affect food absorption, taste, color, and texture
- FFAs contribute to oil smoking and foaming
- Elevated levels may contribute to health problems (More Info)
The Bottom Line
- Many variables impact oil quality
- Volume of customers, food types, mix, trans fats, employee variability, measurement tools, oil management practices, etc.
- Oil quality affects food quality
- An effective oil monitoring process is critical to ensuring success!
- Food quality and consistancy
- Brand consistancy - impact on reputation
- Total cost of oil - materials, employee time, disposal
3M™ Oil Quality Monitoring System Overview
- Provides
- Simple, easy method of reading oil quality based upon industrystandard - Free Fatty Acids
- Clear and consistent day to day measurement
- Historical tracking of oil quality
- Resulting in:
- No more guesswork
- Clear objective measurement process
- Optimized oil use
- Reduced variability; improved food consistency
Easy to use, easy to read and eliminates guesswork. Helps keep fried food quality high. Helps save money by preventing the premature disposal of shortening. Works equally well in animal, vegetable or A/V blend shortenings. Monitoring oil quality is key to ensuring consistant food quality.
