Patent ID: 7678399

Claim:
A method for making a deep-fried food product having health-promoting attributes, comprising: providing a deep frying oil component suitable for deep frying of food products therewithin; combining said deep frying oil component with a phytosterol component to provide a deep frying oil composition, said phytosterol component being in the form of one or more phytosterol esters, said combining being such that said deep frying oil composition contains at least about 80 weight percent of said deep frying oil component and between about 8 and about 12 weight percent of said phytosterol component, based on the total weight of the deep frying oil composition; deep frying a food product within said deep frying oil composition while transferring within said food product at least about 50 weight percent of said phytosterol component present in said deep frying oil composition; and thereby providing a deep-fried food product containing a quantity of said phytosterol component that has a health promoting effect, said health-promoting effect including lowering LDL-cholesterol in an individual who follows a diet that includes regular consumption of said deep-fried food product.