APPLICATION OF SIMPLEX-CENTROID DESIGN FOR THE FORMULATION OF PARTIALLY INTERESTERIFIED CANOLA/PALM BLENDS

. A four-component multiple constraint simplex-centroid design was applied to formulate fat blends containing palm stearin (PS), hydrogenated canola oil (HCO), fully hydrogenated palm oil (FHPO) and canola oil (CO). The PS (10, 20 and 30%) and HCO (10, 20 and 30%) were first co-randomized and various amounts of FHPO (0, 5 and 10%) were then added to the interesterified basestocks; the total composition of all the blends (called partially interesterified blends) was made up to 100% with CO. The contour plots generated were found to be suitable for predicting the dropping point (DP) and solid fat content (SFC) at 10, 20 and 35C. The predicted DP were within 1.6C and the predicted SFC were within 1.8, 1.2 and 1.3% at 10, 20 and 35C, respectively of the experimental values. Both, the DP and SFC of the fat blends formulated indicate that they may be used for various applications.