Application of Oleogels as a Fat Substitute in Food: A Current Review

Fats and oils in food give them flavor and texture while promoting satiety. Despite the recommendation to consume predominantly unsaturated lipid sources, its liquid behavior at room temperature makes many industrial applications impossible. Oleogel is a relatively new technology applied as a total or partial replacement for conventional fats, directly related to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and inflammatory processes. Some of the complications in developing oleogels for food industry are finding structuring agents Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS), viable economically and that not compromise the oleogel palatability; however, many studies have shown the different possibilities of applications of oleogel in food products. This review of studies that applied oleogels in foods and presented recent proposals to circumvent some disadvantages shows that reaching consumer demand for healthier products using an easy-to-use and low-cost material can be intriguing for the food industry.