Shortening is mostly prepared from soybean or cottonseed
oil. Soybean oil is rich in essential fatty acid, linoleic
acid. Use of soybean oil as such in baking has not been
studied. Rapeseed oil has faced some problems related to
health particularly due to its erucic acid content, but its
improved version called hyola oil falls in health food
category, as it is low in erucic acid. The FDA (Food and
Drug Administration) limits the erucic acid content of
rapeseed intended for human consumption to 2% of the
fatty acid content, whereas the figure for rapeseed oil for
industrial use is 45%. Canola oil is currently marketed as
salad oil. Its principle appeal to the health conscious
consumer is that 94% of its fatty acid content is unsaturated
(Anon 1989). Its use in bakery products needs to be
explored.