Release No. 0460.96
                                     Laura Trivers (202) 720-4623
                                     Ben Hardin    (309) 681-6597
USDA DEVELOPS TASTY NO-CAL, HIGH-FIBER FAT SUBSTITUTE
     WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 1996--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has developed a substitute
fat that pleases the palate and adds fiber without adding a single calorie.
     The ersatz fat, called Z-Trim, offers a healthful alternative to
consumers who want to avoid the fat calories in certain foods, yet crave
good taste and pleasing texture.
     "Z-Trim is another example of how agriculture research has a direct
impact on the lives of consumers," said Glickman. "We often think that
agricultural science doesn't touch our day-to-day existence.  But in fact,
these kinds of research results can be seen up and down the aisles of every
supermarket across America."
     "Z-Trim will give consumers low-calorie, high-fiber, reduced-fat
products that still have good 'mouth feel'," said Glickman. "Offering a
healthful, good-tasting option to high-calorie indulgences will help people
keep their weight under control.
     "A consumer who normally eats 3,500 calories a day could cut as many as
700 calories by eating the same kinds of food in the same volume, but adding
about half an ounce of Z-Trim to replace fat."
     Z-Trim is made from a variety of low-cost agricultural byproducts such
as hulls of oats, soybeans, peas and rice, or bran from corn or wheat. Since
Z-Trim is made from these natural dietary fibers, eating ordinary amounts of
it will not upset the digestive system.
     Once the hulls or bran are processed into microscopic fragments and
purified, they are dried and milled into an easy-flowing powder. When the
fragments absorb water, they swell to provide a smooth mouth feel.
     Inventor George E. Inglett, a chemist with USDA's Agricultural
Research Service, said, "Z-Trim can supply important texture qualities such
as appropriate moistness, density, and smoothness in foods ranging from
reduced-calorie cheese products and hamburger to baked goods. It can also
replace some flour in baked goods."
     At the ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research at
Peoria, Ill., where Inglett works, food scientist Kathleen Warner made
Z-Trim foods for trained sensory panelists. The panelists gave equal marks
to standard brownies containing 25 percent fat and Z-Trim brownies with only
15.5 percent fat. In the low-cal Z-Trim brownies, about one-half teaspoon of
Z-Trim replaced 29 grams of fat and reduced the normal amount of flour by
half.
     In 90- to 92-percent-lean ground beef patties, a gel of Z-Trim and
water can replace up to 15 percent of the fat, Warner said. Using Z-Trim
also boosts the meat's tenderness and juiciness, she added.
     ARS has applied for a patent on the process for making the new fat
replacer. Once the patent has been received, ARS will license the process to
private companies to develop commercial products. Inglett, who also invented
Oatrim-10, an earlier fat substitute, has already created a 1-ounce
chocolate bar containing half a gram of Z-Trim, oat fiber, corn syrup, milk
chocolate, artificial sweetener, and 1 gram of soluble beta-glucan from
Oatrim-10.
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NOTE TO EDITORS:  Contact for details: George E. Inglett, Biopolymer
Research, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research,
Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Peoria, Ill., 61604.  Telephone:
(309) 681-6363.
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