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Fat ambition: Plant-based lipids that can replace palm oil, butter, and hydrogenated fatsFat ambition: Plant-based lipids that can replace palm oil, butter, and hydrogenated fats

BioDairy Labs has conceived a technology that removes all unwanted fatty acids from seed oils, retaining only the healthy ones.

Lynda Searby, Freelance B2B copywriter and journalist

January 29, 2025

4 Min Read
Fat ambition: Plant-based lipids that can replace palm oil, butter, and hydrogenated fats
© iStock/Inna Dodor

It was the realisation that the industry needed more trans fat alternatives that prompted medicinal chemist Abdul Keeri to put his molecular chemistry knowledge to use in food tech.

“During the pandemic I noticed a significant market shift towards alternative proteins aimed at building a healthier planet. However, I also observed a glaring gap – the absence of suitable alternative fats on the market,” Keeri, founder of Polish firm BioDairy Labs, recalled.

While the World Health Organization has, for some time, been driving the elimination of trans fats from the global food chain through initiatives with governments and industry, it has not proved so straightforward, given the functionality they confer to recipes and the lack of sustainable alternatives, as Keeri explained.

“Both partially hydrogenated and interesterified fats, which contain unhealthy trans fats, are essential components in many food products. They provide the taste, texture, and shelf life that foods rely on.”

He said that although palm oil and dairy fats offer similar functionality, they are not environmentally sustainable.

A 'pressing need for innovation’

“This has created a pressing need for innovation – a way to create speciality fats that directly replace dairy fats, palm oil and hydrogenated fats, without containing trans fats,” he said.

“To meet the diverse needs of the food industry, fats must also be highly customisable since each food product requires specific characteristics,” Keeri added.

Drawing on his chemistry background, which up to that point had been focused on early-stage drug discovery, Keeri set about developing what he calls “the right fat” – a sustainable, trans-free fat that delivers texturising, stabilising, and shelf-life properties.

His idea was to selectively extract individual fatty acids from vegetable oils and use them to produce triglycerides in a sustainable, trans-free process. He shared his solution with nano chemist Dr Rajeena Urinuyengal, and together, they advanced this concept.

The duo began by submitting their proposal to the EIT-Food Jumpstarter programme, where it was quickly accepted. They were also invited to participate in TeamUp – another pre-incubator programme. Then, at the end of 2024, BioDairy Labs was named a finalist in the Fi Europe 2024 Startup Challenge.

Renting laboratory space at the University Technological Park in Wroclaw allowed the entrepreneurs to test their concept and produce their fat. After a successful pilot they sent their product to an external laboratory for testing and worked with a food law firm to achieve regulatory compliance, enabling them to launch onto the Polish market.

Selective extraction of fatty acids

BioDairy Labs has filed a patent application (currently pending) for its technology, which employs a single, two-stage process to produce structured lipids from vegetable or seed oils such as sunflower, rapeseed, olive, and coconut oil. The fatty acids are selectively separated out of the oil, and then subjected to a proprietary esterification process.

“There is no other technology available today for producing ultra-pure dietary fats in one single process. Our process essentially removes all unwanted fatty acids from seed oils, retaining only the healthy ones,” explained Keeri. “The result is a well-balanced composition of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, as well as a harmonious mix of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.”

He emphasised that while the transformation occurs at the molecular level, no chemical changes are made to the fatty acids themselves, and that the resultant fats are completely free from trans fats and toxins such as MCPDs and glycerol esters.

A key advantage of this technology, according to BioDairy Labs, is that it allows for the creation of fats with specific properties that are essential for achieving the desired taste and texture in food products.

“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel every time we need a different fat – customisation is straightforward. We can adjust the melting and crystallisation behaviour of the fats to suit specific applications,” said Keeri.

As such, he said his company’s fats offer a “plug-and-play” solution for food manufacturers.

“Companies seeking healthy and sustainable fats can directly replace their existing fats with ours, without the need for any capital investment in production processes,” he added.

He reported that BioDairy Labs is currently working with companies in the bakery, confectionery, dairy, and alt-dairy industries that are looking to reduce their carbon footprint and harness the plant-based and health trends.

Ice cream launch

From March 2025, vegan-friendly “healthy” ice cream made with BioDairy Labs’ Fat-Craft ingredient will be on sale in Europe, Keeri confirmed.

Fat-Craft is said to offer a direct replacement for anhydrous milk fat (AMF), providing a dairy fat replacer that is completely free from trans fats and other toxins. It delivers perfect overrun, creaminess, scoop stability, silkiness, and mouthfeel to ice cream formulations, replicates the taste and texture of dairy fats in plant-based croissants, and improves the taste and stability of dairy-free beverages, said Keeri.

“Our goal is to address a wide range of industry needs, such as reducing the carbon footprint of products, helping frozen food companies reduce transportation costs with higher melting fats for frozen confections, and enabling food manufacturers to innovate faster,” he said.

About the Author

Lynda Searby

Freelance B2B copywriter and journalist

A freelance journalist for over 20 years, Lynda has extensive experience in covering food industry developments for the B2B media. Former editor of The Snacks Magazine, she has written for many digital and print titles, including FoodNavigator, Nutraingredients, Food Manufacture and Fine Food Digest. Her specialist areas are food and ingredient technology, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and market trends. 

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