HK40012100A - A process for producing human milk fat substitutes - Google Patents

Description

Method for producing human milk fat substitute

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of triglyceride composition production. In particular, the present invention relates to a process for producing a composition comprising 1, 3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride (OPO).

Background

Palmitic acid (C16: 0) is the major saturated fatty acid in mature human milk, accounting for 17% to 25% of fatty acids. About 70% to 75% of this fatty acid is esterified at the sn-2 position of the triglyceride. In contrast, palmitic acid present in vegetable oils (which are most commonly used in the manufacture of infant formulas) is esterified predominantly at the sn-1 and sn-3 positions, whereas the sn-2 position is normally occupied by unsaturated fatty acids.

During triglyceride digestion, fatty acids esterified at the sn-1 and sn-3 positions are released, yielding two free fatty acids and 2-monoglycerides. Although monoglycerides are well absorbed, the absorption of free fatty acids is very different, depending on their chemical structure. Studies have shown that in order to ensure optimal fat absorption, palmitic acid is best absorbed from human milk as sn-2 monoacylglycerols. In contrast, free palmitic acid at the sn-1 and sn-3 positions, derived from vegetable oils commonly used in the manufacture of infant formula, has a high tendency to form complexes with dietary minerals such as calcium to form fatty acid soaps, leading to loss of calcium and fatty acids in the stool, and to hardening of the stool.

Inspired by the unique structure of triglycerides in human milk and their benefits, some infant formula manufacturers have an incentive to produce mixtures of triglycerides rich in OPO (1, 3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glycerol).

For example, EP0209327 discloses a milk fat substitute comprising 2-palmitoyl glycerides, in which the sn-1 and sn-3 positions are substantially occupied by different shorter chain and/or unsaturated fatty acids. These glycerides can be obtained by rearranging a fat mixture comprising glycerides consisting essentially of saturated 2-palmityl glycerides under the influence of an enzymatic lipase as rearrangement catalyst having a regiospecific activity only at the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the glycerides.

EP0698077 discloses a process for preparing a triglyceride composition wherein more than 40 wt% of the total amount of saturated fatty acids are present in the sn-2 position. The composition may be obtained by reacting palm stearin with high oleic sunflower acid in the presence of a catalyst.

Since the desired product in the prior art is OPO, the free fatty acid mixtures commonly used in transesterification reactions contain a high oleic acid content.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention aims to improve the prior art methods. Based on the prior art, the inventors of the present application have surprisingly found that the use of a free fatty acid mixture containing more than 20 wt% linoleic acid (C18: 2) leads to a more efficient reaction and better products compared to conventional free fatty acid mixtures containing less than 20 wt% linoleic acid and more than 50 wt% oleic acid.

To achieve the above objects, in one aspect the present invention provides a process for the production of a composition comprising 1, 3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride (OPO), the process comprising subjecting palm stearin to enzymatic transesterification with a free fatty acid mixture comprising more than 20% by weight linoleic acid (C18: 2).

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the free fatty acid mixture further comprises less than 80% by weight of oleic acid (C18: 1).

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the free fatty acid mixture further comprises less than 5 wt.% palmitic acid (C16: 0).

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the free fatty acid mixture further comprises less than 1% by weight linolenic acid (C18: 3).

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the linoleic acid (C18: 2) content in the free fatty acid mixture is more than 25% and less than 65% by weight.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the oleic acid (C18: 1) content of the free fatty acid mixture is greater than 30% and less than 70% by weight.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the ratio between the oleic acid (C18: 1) content of the free fatty acid mixture and the linoleic acid (C18: 2) content of the free fatty acid mixture is less than 5.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the ratio between the oleic acid (C18: 1) content in the free fatty acid mixture and the linoleic acid (C18: 2) content in the free fatty acid mixture is more than 0.5 and less than 2.5.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the ratio between the oleic acid (C18: 1) content in the free fatty acid mixture and the linoleic acid (C18: 2) content in the free fatty acid mixture is more than 0.5 and less than 2.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the ratio between the oleic acid (C18: 1) content in the free fatty acid mixture and the linoleic acid (C18: 2) content in the free fatty acid mixture is more than 0.5 and less than 1.5.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ratio between the content of free fatty acid mixture and palm stearin is greater than 1 and less than 3.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the free fatty acid mixture is derived from sunflower oil.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a composition comprising 1, 3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride, the composition being prepared by a process as described above.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides an infant food product comprising a composition as described above.

As noted above, the inventors of the present disclosure have shown that the use of the unique free fatty acid mixtures of the present invention in transesterification reactions unexpectedly results in improved products. This is in contrast to the belief of those skilled in the art that it would indicate the benefit of using a free fatty acid mixture that is rich in oleic acid but not linoleic acid. The present invention thus does achieve the unexpected technical result for the person skilled in the art.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described in detail in the detailed description which follows.

Detailed Description

The following will describe in detail specific embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the present invention, are intended for purposes of illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

The endpoints of the ranges and any values disclosed herein are not limited to the precise range or value, and these ranges or values should be understood to include values that are close to these ranges or values. For numerical ranges, one or more new numerical ranges can be obtained by combining the end values of the ranges, the end values of the respective ranges, and the respective point values with one another. Ranges should be considered as specifically disclosed herein.

As used herein, the terms "sn-1", "sn-2" and "sn-3" position refer to the position of the carbon atom of the glyceryl moiety, i.e., the position of the first, second and third carbon atoms of the glyceryl moiety. For example, the sn-2 position occupied by palmitic acid indicates that a glyceryl moiety is bonded to palmitic acid at the second carbon atom.

As used herein, the term "C16: 0 "," C18: 1 "," C18: 2 "," C18: 3 ", etc. refer to the number of carbon atoms contained in the hydrocarbon and the degree of unsaturation thereof. For example, "C16: 0 "represents a hydrocarbon containing 16 carbon atoms and having a degree of unsaturation of 0; and "C18: 1 "represents a hydrocarbon containing 18 carbon atoms and having a degree of unsaturation of 1.

As used herein, the term "palm stearin" refers to a fraction of palm oil having a higher melting point (e.g., 44-56 ℃), which may be obtained in conventional processes for producing edible palm oil, but is not limited.

In one aspect, the invention provides a method of producing a composition comprising 1, 3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride (OPO), the method comprising subjecting palm stearin to enzymatic transesterification with a free fatty acid mixture comprising greater than 20% by weight linoleic acid (C18: 2).

According to the present invention, the enzymatic transesterification can be carried out under conditions which are customary in the art for enzymatic transesterification. In a preferred embodiment, the enzymatic transesterification may be carried out in the presence of a surfactant coated immobilized 1, 3-lipase (prepared as described in WO00/56869 of the applicant). This lipase has regiospecific activity only at the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of glycerides, which can catalyze rearrangement at sn-1 and sn-3 of triglycerides.

According to the invention, the content of linoleic acid (C18: 2) in the free fatty acid mixture is not particularly limited as long as it meets the content requirements of the invention (i.e. more than 20 wt%). In some embodiments according to the invention, the linoleic acid (C18: 2) content in the free fatty acid mixture can be greater than 25 wt.%, can be greater than 30 wt.%, can be greater than 33 wt.%, and can be greater than 35 wt.%. In some other embodiments according to the invention, the linoleic acid content in the free fatty acid mixture may be greater than 20 wt.% and less than 60 wt.%, may be greater than 30 wt.% and less than 55 wt.%, may be greater than 30 wt.% and less than 50 wt.%, may be greater than 35 wt.% and less than 48 wt.%, may be greater than 25 wt.% and less than 65 wt.%, may be greater than 30 wt.% and less than 60 wt.%, may be greater than 35 wt.% and less than 60 wt.%, and may be greater than 37 wt.% and less than 47 wt.%.

In some embodiments according to the invention, the free fatty acid mixture may further comprise oleic acid (C18: 1). The oleic acid (C18: 1) content of the free fatty acid mixture may be less than 80 wt.%, may be less than 70 wt.%, may be less than 65 wt.%, may be less than 60 wt.%, and may be less than 57 wt.%. In some other embodiments according to the invention, the oleic acid content of the free fatty acid mixture may be greater than 20% and less than 80% by weight, may be greater than 30% and less than 70% by weight, may be greater than 30% and less than 65% by weight, may be greater than 35% and less than 65% by weight, and may be greater than 40% and less than 60% by weight.

In some embodiments according to the invention, the free fatty acid mixture may further comprise palmitic acid (C16: 0). The palmitic acid (C16: 0) content of the free fatty acid mixture may be less than 5 wt.%, may be less than 4 wt.%, may be greater than 2 wt.% and less than 5 wt.%, may be greater than 2 wt.% and less than 4 wt.%, and may be greater than 3 wt.% and less than 4 wt.%.

In some embodiments according to the invention, the free fatty acid mixture may further comprise linolenic acid (C18: 3). The linolenic acid (C18: 3) content of the free fatty acid mixture may be less than 1 wt.%, may be greater than 0.2 wt.% and less than 1 wt.%, may be greater than 0.3 wt.% and less than 0.9 wt.%, may be greater than 0.4 wt.% and less than 0.8 wt.%, and may be greater than 0.5 wt.% and less than 0.7 wt.%.

According to the invention, the process of the invention can be carried out with a specific ratio of oleic acid to linoleic acid in the free fatty acid mixture. In some embodiments according to the invention, the ratio between the oleic acid (C18: 1) content in the free fatty acid mixture and the linoleic acid (C18: 2) content in the free fatty acid mixture may be less than 5, may be less than 4, may be less than 3, may be less than 2, may be less than 1.8, may be less than 2.5 and greater than 0.5, may be less than 2 and greater than 0.5, and may be less than 1.5 and greater than 1. In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the ratio between the oleic acid (C18: 1) content in the free fatty acid mixture and the linoleic acid (C18: 2) content in the free fatty acid mixture is less than 1.5 and greater than 0.5.

In some embodiments according to the invention, the free fatty acid mixture is derived from at least one of the following vegetable oils: sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil and canola oil. In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the free fatty acid mixture is derived from sunflower oil. In a particular embodiment according to the invention, the free fatty acid mixture is prepared by mixing various vegetable oils having different free fatty acid compositions to achieve the desired ratio of the respective free fatty acids.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the free fatty acid mixture comprises more than 20% by weight of linoleic acid (C18: 2), less than 80% by weight of oleic acid (C18: 1), less than 5% by weight of palmitic acid (C16: 0) and less than 1% by weight of linolenic acid (C18: 3), wherein the ratio between the contents of oleic acid (C18: 1) and linoleic acid (C18: 2) is less than 5.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the free fatty acid mixture contains more than 30% and less than 60% by weight of linoleic acid (C18: 2), more than 40% and less than 65% by weight of oleic acid (C18: 1), more than 2% and less than 5% by weight of palmitic acid (C16: 0) and less than 1% by weight of linolenic acid (C18: 3), wherein the ratio between the contents of oleic acid (C18: 1) and linoleic acid (C18: 2) is 2 or less.

Thus, the process of the present invention using a free fatty acid mixture containing more than 20% by weight linoleic acid (C18: 2) results in a more efficient reaction and better product than a conventional free fatty acid mixture containing less than 20% by weight linoleic acid and more than 80% by weight oleic acid. In some embodiments according to the invention, the composition prepared according to the methods of the invention comprises more than 15% and less than 55% palmitic acid moieties (hereinafter also referred to as "% total C16: 0" or "% total palmitic acid") by weight of total fatty acids of more than 15% and less than 50%, may be more than 15% and less than 40%, may be more than 15% and less than 38%, may be more than 15% and less than 33%, may be more than 15% and less than 25%, may be more than 17% and less than 24%, may be more than 17% and less than 23%, may be more than 18% and less than 22%, may be more than 19% and less than 21%, may be greater than 20 wt% and less than 50 wt%, may be greater than 25 wt% and less than 40 wt%, may be greater than 30 wt% and less than 38 wt%, may be greater than 30 wt% and less than 35 wt%, may be greater than 31 wt% and less than 34 wt%, and may be greater than 31 wt% and less than 33 wt%.

Further, as described above, it is known that palmitic acid is preferably absorbed as sn-2 monoacylglycerols. In contrast, free palmitic acid derived from vegetable oils at the sn-1 and sn-3 positions is highly prone to forming complexes with dietary minerals such as calcium to form fatty acid soaps, leading to loss of calcium and fatty acids in the stool and hardening of the stool. Thus, advantageously, the level of palmitic acid moieties at the sn-2 position of the glycerol backbone (hereinafter also referred to as the "% palmitic sn-2 ratio" or the "% C16: 0 ratio on sn-2") in the total palmitic acid composition is sufficiently high. In some embodiments according to the invention, the level of palmitic acid moieties at the sn-2 position of the glycerol backbone in the composition may be at least 30%, may be at least 38%, may be at least 40%, may be at least 43%, may be at least 44%, and may be at least 50% by weight of total palmitic acid. In some other embodiments according to the invention, the level of palmitic acid moieties on the sn-2 position of the glycerol backbone in the composition may be more than 30% and less than 70%, may be more than 40% and less than 60%, may be more than 43% and less than 60%, may be more than 44% and less than 55%, may be more than 50% and less than 65%, may be more than 55% and less than 70%, may be more than 40% and less than 55%, and may be more than 40% and less than 50% of the total palmitic acid. According to the invention, the expression "% C16 on sn-2: the 0 ratio "can be calculated by the formula [ (% C16: 0 on sn-2)/3 ]/(% total C16: 0) × 100, where the term"% C16 on sn-2: 0 "refers to the percentage of fatty acids on sn-2 of% palmitic acid on all sn-2 positions, and the term"% total C16: 0 "is the same as described above.

As for the composition of the product produced by the process of the present invention, it may include triglycerides containing 52 carbons (hereinafter also referred to as C52 triglycerides, which are desired products of the reaction, such as OPO), triglycerides containing 48 carbons (hereinafter also referred to as C48 triglycerides, which are starting materials of the reaction), and triglycerides containing 54 carbons (hereinafter also referred to as C54 triglycerides, which are undesired products). Therefore, it would be advantageous to obtain a product with a composition of higher levels of C52 triglycerides and lower levels of C48 triglycerides and C54 triglycerides, indicating better enzyme activity and an improved product.

In some embodiments according to the invention, the content of triglycerides containing 48 carbons (% C48 triglycerides) in the composition is 10 wt.% or less, may be less than 9 wt.%, may be less than 8 wt.%, may be less than 7 wt.%, may be greater than 3 wt.% and less than 10 wt.%, may be greater than 4 wt.% and less than 9 wt.%, and may be greater than 5 wt.% and less than 8 wt.%. In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the content of triglycerides containing 48 carbons (% C48 triglycerides) in the composition is less than 8% by weight. In another preferred embodiment according to the invention, the content of triglycerides containing 48 carbons (% C48 triglycerides) in the composition is less than 6.5% by weight.

In some embodiments according to the invention, the content of triglycerides containing 52 carbons (% C52 triglycerides) in the composition is 40 wt.% or more, may be greater than 42 wt.%, may be greater than 45 wt.%, may be greater than 40 wt.% and less than 70 wt.%, may be greater than 40 wt.% and less than 60 wt.%, may be greater than 40 wt.% and less than 50 wt.%, and may be greater than 40 wt.% and less than 45 wt.%. In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the content of triglycerides containing 52 carbons (% C52 triglycerides) in the composition is more than 45% by weight.

In some embodiments according to the invention, the triglyceride content (% C54 triglyceride) of 54 carbons in the composition is less than 25% by weight, may be less than 20% by weight, and may be less than 17% by weight. In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the content of triglycerides containing 54 carbons (% C54 triglycerides) in the composition is less than 18% by weight.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a composition comprising 1, 3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride, the composition being prepared by a process as described above.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides an infant food product comprising a composition as described above.

Examples

In the present description, and in the non-limiting examples provided below, reference is made to fat bases (fat bases) and fat blends. It is to be understood that the term "fat base" or "fat concentrate" or "fat base concentrate" is used to denote an enzymatically prepared lipid composition comprising a mixture of plant-derived triglycerides and high sn-2 palmitic acid; while the term "fat blend" is used to denote a lipid composition comprising a fat base and an edible vegetable oil mixture.

As shown below, the fat blend is a fat base comprising mainly triglycerides with high total palmitic acid and high sn-2 palmitic acid mixed with other edible vegetable oils. The edible vegetable oil can be a natural vegetable oil, a randomized vegetable oil, a transesterified vegetable oil, an enzymatic transesterified vegetable oil, a co-randomized at least two vegetable oils, a co-transesterified at least two vegetable oils. Typically, such fat blends are used as the fat portion of infant formulas and may be used in other infant foods (e.g., biscuits, bars, etc.), food products and clinical nutrition.

Example 1-production of OPO fat base:

triglyceride mixture (palm stearin) and Free Fatty Acid (FFA) mixture 1 was mixed at a ratio of 1: 2 and stirring. To the resulting blend is added a surfactant coated immobilized 1, 3-lipase (as prepared in WO00/56869 of the applicant). The triglyceride mixture, FFA and catalyst were stirred at 50 ℃ for 4 hours and separated from the catalyst by decantation/filtration.

Examples 2 to 5

Products were prepared according to the method of example 1, except that FFA mixture 2-6 was used instead of FFA mixture 1, to form fat bases 2-6, respectively.

Comparative example 1

The product was prepared according to the method of example 1, except that comparative FFA mixture 1 was substituted for FFA mixture 1, to form comparative fat base 1.

For FFA mixtures 1-6, they were prepared as follows:

FFA mixture 1-275 g FFA rich in Oleic Acid (OA) was mixed with 275g FFA rich in Linoleic Acid (LA) to give a 1.5 ratio of OA/LA;

FFA mixture 2-220 g OA-rich FFA was mixed with 330g LA-rich FFA to give a 1.2 ratio of OA/LA;

FFA mixture 3-170.5 g OA-rich FFA were mixed with 379.5g LA-rich FFA to give a 1 ratio of OA/LA;

FFA mixture 4-75 g OA-rich FFA was mixed with 425g LA-rich FFA to give 0.5 ratio OA/LA;

FFA mixture 5-310 g OA-rich FFA was mixed with 190g LA-rich FFA to give 2 ratio OA/LA;

FFA mixture 6-360 g OA-rich FFA was mixed with 140g LA-rich FFA to give a 2.6 ratio of OA/LA;

comparative FFA mixtures 1-500 grams of oleic acid rich FFA,

the detailed composition of each FFA mixture is shown in table 1.

The fatty acid composition (area percent, which corresponds to weight percent) of the FFA mixture and the final fat matrix was analyzed using an extension of AOAC Official Method Ce 1 i-07.

The sample was hydrolyzed with sodium hydroxide solution. Then, fatty acid methyl esters were extracted using a 12% boron trichloride methanol solution in the presence of hexane. The extract was analyzed by gas chromatography. The fatty acid composition is reported as area percent corresponding to weight percent.

Table 1 fatty acid composition of FFA mixture (% by weight)

OPO fat matrix analysis

The OPO fat base produced according to the method of the present invention using the unique FFA mixtures of the present invention shows unexpected advantages over OPO fat base produced according to the conventional method using conventional FFA mixtures. In particular, as shown in table 2, fat bases 1-6 exhibited higher levels of triglycerides containing 52 carbons (C52, e.g., OPO), which are desirable reaction products. At the same time, the content of triglycerides with 48 carbon atoms (C48) in the fat base 1-6 was lower compared to the comparative fat base 1. C48 triglycerides are the starting material for the reaction, so lower levels of these triglycerides in the reaction product demonstrate better enzyme activity.

TABLE 2 analysis of triglycerides (% by weight) in fat matrix

OPO fat matrix analysis after distillation

As shown in table 3, fat matrices 1-3 and comparative sample 1 were distilled to remove FFA and analyzed. The ratio of palmitic acid sn-2 in the fat base 1-3 produced using the FFA according to the invention (FFA mixture 1-3) is higher compared to the comparative fat base 1 produced using conventional FFA (comparative FFA mixture 1). Importantly, fat bases 1-3 also showed higher levels of triglycerides containing 52 carbons (C52, e.g., OPO), which are desirable reaction products. At the same time, the triglyceride content of the fat bases 1-3 containing 48 and 54 carbon atoms (C48 and C54, respectively) is lower compared to the comparative fat base 1. C48 triglycerides are the starting material for the reaction and therefore lower levels of these triglycerides in the reaction product demonstrate better enzyme activity. Also, since C54 triglycerides are not the desired product, lower levels of these triglycerides demonstrate better enzyme selectivity.

Finally, the oxidation stability of fat matrix 3 was compared with the oxidation stability of comparative fat matrix 1. The results are shown in table 4 and indicate that fat base 3 has lower p-anisidine and peroxide values compared to comparative fat base 1. These lower values indicate that the fat base according to the invention has a higher oxidative stability compared to conventional fat bases. The results are surprising, because linoleic acid has a higher degree of unsaturation compared to oleic acid, it is expected that fat base 3, which contains a greater level of unsaturation, will be more prone to oxidation than comparative fat base 1.

TABLE 3 analysis of triglyceride (% by weight) and% C16 at Sn2 position in fat matrix

	Fat base 1	Fat base 2	Fat base 3	Comparative fat base 1
					Ratio of% C16 on Sn-2	53.5	53.3	52.7	51.4
% C48 triglyceride	6.02	6.44	5.61	6.77
					% C52 (e.g. OPO) Triglycerides	47.68	46.93	45.57	42.22
% C54 triglyceride	17.60	16.89	16.16	24.12

TABLE 4 analysis of p-anisidine and peroxide values in fat matrices

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail. However, the invention is not limited to the specific details of the above-described embodiments. Within the scope of the technical idea of the invention, various simple changes may be made to the technical solution of the invention. These simple variations fall within the scope of the present invention.

It should further be noted that the specific features described in the above embodiments may be combined in any suitable way without conflict. To avoid unnecessary repetition, the present invention is applicable to various embodiments. Possible combinations will not be described further.

In addition, any combination of the various embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention should be considered as the disclosure of the present invention.

Claims (14)

1. A process for producing a composition comprising 1, 3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride, the process comprising subjecting palm stearin to enzymatic transesterification with a free fatty acid mixture comprising greater than 20% by weight linoleic acid.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the free fatty acid mixture further comprises less than 80% by weight oleic acid.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the free fatty acid mixture further comprises less than 5% by weight palmitic acid.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the free fatty acid mixture further comprises less than 1% linolenic acid by weight.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the linoleic acid content in the free fatty acid mixture is greater than 25 wt.% and less than 65 wt.%.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the oleic acid content of the free fatty acid mixture is greater than 30% and less than 70% by weight.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the ratio between the oleic acid content in the free fatty acid mixture and the linoleic acid content in the free fatty acid mixture is less than 5.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the ratio between the oleic acid content in the free fatty acid mixture and the linoleic acid content in the free fatty acid mixture is greater than 0.5 and less than 2.5.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the ratio between the oleic acid content in the free fatty acid mixture and the linoleic acid content in the free fatty acid mixture is greater than 0.5 and less than 2.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the ratio between the oleic acid content in the free fatty acid mixture and the linoleic acid content in the free fatty acid mixture is greater than 0.5 and less than 1.5.

11. A process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the ratio between the content of the free fatty acid mixture and the palm stearin is greater than 1 and less than 3.

12. The process according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein the free fatty acid mixture is derived from sunflower oil.

13. A composition comprising 1, 3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride, the composition being prepared by the process according to any one of claims 1-12.

14. An infant food comprising the composition of claim 13.