Organic rapeseed oil powder

Rapeseed was already known to the Romans, but the rapeseed plant is still relatively young as a source of healthy oil. It was not until the mid-1970s that new rapeseed varieties could be bred whose tiny seeds produced oil that was fit for consumption. The bitter compound erucic acid and the toxic components of glucosinolates had previously made the oil unsuitable as a cooking oil. Rapeseed oil was therefore mainly used as a fuel, for example in oil lamps. Since then, numerous studies have shown that the rapeseed grown today produces seeds which, when processed into cooking oil, provide us with a high-quality food. It contains many valuable nutrients and has a highly favorable fatty acid profile from a nutritional perspective. At BERTRAND, we use high-quality cold-pressed organic rapeseed oil without hydrogenated fats. Since we naturally cannot add liquid oil to our BERTRAND powdered meal, the rapeseed oil is processed into powder before it makes its way into our products.

How rapeseed oil becomes rapeseed oil powder

In a powdered drink meal, all ingredients must be powdered. They must be stable in terms of taste and smell and have a long shelf life. We ensure that our organic ingredients meet the highest standards from cultivation through to incorporation into the product blends.

1. CULTIVATION

   The fields of our European suppliers are used exclusively for organic farming. In spring, the rapeseed fields glow a vivid yellow. Due to the great variety of rapeseed, the plant grows in different soils and under different climatic conditions. However, acidic soils and waterlogged soils are unfavorable. Before harvesting, the farmer checks the degree of ripeness every day to determine the optimal time to harvest.

   THE SOIL HAS TO BE RIGHT

2. HARVEST

   By July, brownish pods have grown from the yellow rapeseed blossoms, containing the small, spherical seeds measuring 15 to 18 millimeters. The window for harvesting is relatively short, and the weather must be dry. That is why you sometimes see combine harvesters working late into the night when the rapeseed has to be harvested. To expose the seeds to as few environmental influences as possible, transporters are already waiting at the edge of the field to take the sensitive cargo to the oil mill.

   FROM THE FIELD TO THE OIL MILL

3. VIRGIN OIL

   At the oil mill, the seeds are cleaned. For virgin organic rapeseed oil, a particularly gentle pressing process using a so-called “screw press” is chosen. This oil press, specially developed for the cold-pressing process, is characterized by very low heat generation. The result is a golden-yellow oil with a slightly nutty flavor.

   COLD-PRESSED IN THE SCREW PRESS

4. FILLING

   After pressing, speed is essential: To prevent the highly sensitive oil from oxidizing due to exposure to oxygen, it is immediately filled into airtight containers. Our organic rapeseed oil is transferred into IBC containers (intermediate bulk containers). These are robust containers specially used in the food industry to transport and store liquids. These space-saving “bulk containers” are reusable, and therefore align with our environmental principles.

   AWAY FROM OXYGEN AND LIGHT

5. MICROENCAPSULATION

   To ensure that our products spend only a short time in storage at our facility, we use precisely timed processing steps. The final step, turning the oil into powder, therefore takes place soon after the rapeseed oil is delivered. This final step is called “microencapsulation.” We use maltodextrin as the carrier substance: “malto” stands for maltose, the sugar found in malt, while “dextrin” stands for dextrose. Our rapeseed oil is finely sprayed onto a bed of maltodextrin and thereby “encapsulated.” This not only creates the oil powder; the product also immediately receives a kind of protective coating that shields it from oxidation. The powder then goes straight into the BERTRAND drinking meal mixes and is filled into pouches.

   WE PROTECT THE OIL AS A POWDER

But why rapeseed oil?

The mildly aromatic rapeseed oil is a high-quality oil. Compared with other vegetable oils, it has the highest content of unsaturated fatty acids and the lowest proportion of saturated fatty acids. The German Nutrition Society (DGE), whose guidelines we follow when formulating BERTRAND drinkable meals, recommends rapeseed oil and spreads made from it in its 10 rules for a wholesome and balanced diet.
Above all, rapeseed oil’s optimal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is what makes it so valuable and is the main reason why we use rapeseed oil powder. In the current Central European diet, the desired ratio of 5:1 is rarely achieved. The intake of the essential unsaturated fatty acids linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid is increased through the use of rapeseed oil powder, shifting the ratio of omega fatty acids in a positive direction. A single tablespoon of rapeseed oil (15 grams) can cover 38 percent of the human requirement for linoleic acid and as much as 87 percent for alpha-linolenic acid.

But rapeseed oil can do even more. It contains many minerals and secondary plant compounds, as well as vitamins A, E, and K. The fat-soluble vitamin E (tocopherols) is known as an effective antioxidant. However, it is sensitive to light, so foods containing vitamin E should always be packaged and stored in the dark. Vitamin E can also be produced synthetically. At BERTRAND, however, we completely avoid chemically produced ingredients. The vitamin E content in our products is therefore 100 percent natural in origin, and organic rapeseed oil powder makes a valuable contribution to this.

Last but not least, we use rapeseed oil powder because the mildly nutty yet subtle aroma of rapeseed oil also gives our drinkable meals a pleasantly rounded flavor. Rapeseed oil powder has exceptionally good water dispersibility, meaning it dissolves effortlessly in liquids and distributes evenly without clumping. This makes it ideally suited to BERTRAND drinkable meals. The organoleptic properties (mouthfeel, creaminess) also benefit.

There are quality differences in rapeseed.

Reservations about rapeseed oil (canola oil) come primarily from the USA and Canada, where genetically modified seeds are often used and the oils are highly heated during pressing and sometimes chemically treated.

Concerns about rapeseed oil?

Concerns about rapeseed oil (canola oil) mainly come from the USA and Canada. However, genetically modified seeds are often used there, and the oils are heated strongly during pressing and sometimes treated with chemicals. We do not use such oils. Our rapeseed oil comes from European organic farming; it is a virgin, cold-pressed oil, guaranteed to be free of GMOs (genetic engineering) and chemical treatment.
There are also concerns about the erucic acid contained in rapeseed. Erucic acid is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid. It is considered a “naturally occurring contaminant” in vegetable oils that, in larger quantities, can cause so-called “lipidoses” (fatty deposits), especially in the heart. In rapeseed grown for food production, the level is generally below 0.5 percent. In 1976, the EU set maximum levels for erucic acid in vegetable fats. The rapeseed oil we use contains less than 0.1 percent erucic acid. The glucosinolate content has also been reduced by more than 90 percent through breeding. This resulted in so-called “00 rapeseed” (double-zero rapeseed). Our organic rapeseed oil powder meets the 00 standard.

Concerns about maltodextrin?

There are also sometimes voices opposed to maltodextrin as an additive in food preparations. This disaccharide (maltose = malt sugar and dextrose = grape sugar, or glucose) quickly passes through the intestines into the bloodstream and causes blood sugar levels to rise rapidly. It is unsuitable for diabetics, but overall it is classified as harmless by the BzfE (Federal Centre for Nutrition). Maltodextrin provides empty carbohydrates and many calories (380 kilocalories per 100 grams). From a nutritional perspective, it should therefore be consumed with caution. In medicine, maltodextrin is used therapeutically to treat underweight.
Since we use maltodextrin exclusively as a carrier substance for organic rapeseed oil, only a very small amount enters the BERTRAND drinking meals. Our products have a low glycemic index, which means that consuming the drinking meals causes blood sugar levels to rise slowly and steadily. Maltodextrin is gluten-free.