February 2012/Prepared Foods -- Fats and oils might still be “four-letter words” to some processors. These often-misunderstood ingredients perform many different and essential—and even critical— functions in foods and in human nutrition. Today’s ingredient manufacturers are offering increasingly sophisticated “better-for-you” fat and oil systems to product developers. David Hughes, a technical services manager with Ventura Foods LLC, outlined the functional benefits of fats and provided an overview of new fat and oil ingredients during his presentation, “Next Generation of No-Trans Fat Shortenings,” during the Prepared Foods’ R&D Applications Seminar-East in 2010.