View source for Margarine

{{short description|Semi-solid oily spread often used as a butter substitute}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Margarine
| image            = Margarine.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = Margarine in a tub
| alternate_name   = Marge, oleo, oleomargarine, buttery spread
| country          = [[Second French Empire|France]]
| region           = 
| creator          = [[Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès]]
| course           = 
| type             = [[Spread (food)|Spread]]
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = Vegetable oils
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}

'''Margarine''' ({{IPAc-en|'|m|a:r|dZ|@|r|i:|n}}, <small>also</small> {{IPAc-en|uk|'|m|a:r|g|@|-|,_|,|m|a:r|g|@|'|r|i:|n|,_|,|m|a:r|dZ|@|-}}, {{IPAc-en|us|ˈ|m|ɑːr|dʒ|ə|r|ɪ|n|audio=En-us-margarine.ogg}})<ref>{{cite book|last=Wells|first=John|author-link=John C. Wells|title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary|publisher=Pearson Longman|edition=3rd|date=3 April 2008|isbn=978-1-4058-8118-0}}</ref> is a [[Spread (food)|spread]] used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for [[butter]]. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from [[vegetable oil]]. The spread was originally named ''oleomargarine'' from [[Latin]] for ''oleum'' (olive oil) and [[Greek language|Greek]] ''margarite'' ("pearl", indicating luster). The name was later shortened to ''margarine'',<ref name=rupp/> or sometimes ''oleo'' (particularly in the [[Deep South]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Josh |title=What Is Oleo And Why Did My Grandma Use It More Than Butter? |url=https://www.southernliving.com/what-is-oleo-8619351 |website=Southern Living |publisher=Dotdash Meredith |access-date=25 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Corey |title=What Is Oleo—And Why Is It In So Many of My Grandma's Recipes? |url=https://www.allrecipes.com/article/what-is-oleo/ |website=AllRecipes |publisher=Dotdash Meredith |access-date=25 January 2025}}</ref>

Margarine consists of a water-in-fat emulsion, with tiny droplets of water dispersed uniformly throughout a fat [[phase (chemistry)|phase]] in a stable solid form.<ref name="Rajah">{{cite web |last=Rajah |first=Kanes |date=1 May 2005 |title=Spread thickly with innovation: with the basic concept of spreads unchanged for decades, producers have to be increasingly innovative in their product development and marketing. Kanes Rajah outlines some successful strategies. |url=http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/food-manufacturing-grain-oilseed-milling/423256-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130045412/https://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/food-manufacturing-grain-oilseed-milling/423256-1.html |archive-date=30 November 2007 |access-date=10 November 2009 |work=Al Business website |publisher=The Gale Group, Inc.}}</ref> While butter is made by concentrating the [[butterfat]] of milk through centrifugation, modern margarine is made through a more intensive processing of refined [[vegetable oil]] and water. 

Per US federal regulation, products must have a minimum fat content of 80% (with a maximum of 16% water) to be labeled "margarine" in the United States,<ref name="fda2017">{{cite web |date=1 April 2017 |title=Margarine, Part 166: Subpart B, Requirements for Specific Standardized Margarine |url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?FR=166.110 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051106200223/http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=166.110 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 November 2005 |access-date=5 December 2017 |publisher=Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Subchapter B, Food for Human Consumption, US Food and Drug Administration}}</ref><ref name="Larson 2023">{{Cite magazine |last=Larson |first=Sarah |date=2023-09-04 |title=The Lies in Your Grocery Store |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/09/11/the-lies-in-your-grocery-store |access-date=2024-10-04 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}</ref> although the term is used informally to describe vegetable-oil-based spreads with lower fat content.<ref name="fda2017" /><ref>{{cite news |author=Matthew Boyle |date=31 January 2014 |title=Unilever Adds Butter to Margarine as the Foods' Fortunes Reverse |work=Businessweek.com |url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-30/unilever-adds-butter-to-margarine-as-the-foods-fortunes-reverse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131083238/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-30/unilever-adds-butter-to-margarine-as-the-foods-fortunes-reverse |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 January 2014 |access-date=11 January 2015 |quote=Although margarine was originally made primarily from beef fat, the products most people call margarine today are spreads}}</ref>

Margarine can be used as an ingredient in other food products, such as pastries, doughnuts, cakes, and cookies.<ref>{{cite news| author=Ian P. Freeman |title=Margarines and Shortenings|journal= Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry|year= 2005 |publisher=Wiley-VCH, Weinheim|  doi=10.1002/14356007.a16_145|isbn=3527306730 }}</ref>

==History==
===Invention and early distribution===
{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage= | audio1 = [https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/podcast/butter-vs-margarine “Butter vs. Margarine”], ''Distillations'' Podcast, [[Science History Institute]]}}

Margarine has its roots in the discovery by French chemist [[Michel Eugène Chevreul]] in 1813 of [[Heptadecanoic acid|margaric acid]].<ref name="Food Industries Manual">{{cite book|title=Food industries manual|editor1=Baker Christopher G.J |editor2=Ranken H.D |editor3= Kill R.C. |publisher=Springer|year=1997|volume=24th Edition|pages=285–289|isbn= 978-0-7514-0404-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iG3wx9Wh5N4C&pg=PA286 |access-date= 13 November 2009}}</ref> Scientists at the time regarded margaric acid, like [[oleic acid]] and [[stearic acid]], as one of the three [[fatty acid]]s that, in combination, form most animal fats. In 1853, the German structural chemist [[Wilhelm Heinrich Heintz]] analyzed margaric acid as simply a combination of stearic acid and the previously unknown [[palmitic acid]].<ref>C.G. Lehmann, Lehrbuch der physiologischen Chemie, Verlag Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig (1853) p71.</ref>

After the French Emperor [[Napoleon III]] issued a challenge to create a butter-substitute from [[beef tallow]] for the armed forces and lower classes, [[Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès]] invented margarine in 1869.<ref name="rupp">{{cite web|author1= Rupp R|title=The Butter Wars: When Margarine Was Pink|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2014/08/13/the-butter-wars-when-margarine-was-pink/ |publisher=The Plate: National Geographic|access-date=5 December 2017|date=13 August 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180801063420/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2014/08/13/the-butter-wars-when-margarine-was-pink/|archive-date=1 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wolfe |first1=Elgin |title=Sciencepower 9: Science, Technology, Society, Environment |date=2000 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Limited |isbn=978-0-07-560905-6 }}{{pn|date=July 2024}}</ref> Mège-Mouriès patented the product, which he named "oleomargarine", and expanded his initial manufacturing operation from France, but had little commercial success. In 1871, he sold the patent to the Dutch company [[Antonius Johannes Jurgens| Jurgens]], which subsequently became part of [[Unilever]].<ref name=rupp/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/foodbrands/Stork.aspx|title=Stork Margarine:How it all started|last= Anon|work= Unilever :Our Brands|publisher= Unilever |access-date= 21 October 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091012023137/http://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/foodbrands/Stork.aspx|archive-date=12 October 2009}}</ref> In the same year a German pharmacist, Benedict Klein from [[Cologne]], founded the first margarine factory in Germany, producing the brands Overstolz and Botteram.<ref>Johannes Maubach: ''Auf den Spuren der alten Ehrenfelder Industrie'', Köln 2005, page 55</ref>

[[File:Margarine-Boterfabriek Joh. Jurgens, Osch, Rotterdam.jpg|thumb|190px|Dutch margarine advertising, 1893]]
[[File:Swift oleomargarine newspaper ad.png|thumbnail|left|Newspaper ad for an American oleomargarine product, 1919. Product made by the American company [[Swift & Company]] from by-products of the animal processing business.]]

The principal raw material in the original formulation of margarine was beef-fat.<ref name=rupp/> In 1871, Henry W. Bradley of [[Binghamton, New York]], received US Patent 110626<ref>{{US Patent| 110626}}</ref> for a process of creating margarine that combined vegetable oils (primarily [[cottonseed oil]]) with animal fats.<ref>{{cite patent |country= US |number= 110626 |status= patent |title= Improvement in compounds for culinary use |invent1= Bradley, Henry W. |pubdate= 1871-01-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last= Schleifer |first=David |date= January 2012 |title=The Perfect Solution: How Trans Fats Became the Healthy Replacement for Saturated Fats |url= http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/technology_and_culture/v053/53.1.schleifer.html |journal=[[Technology and Culture]] |publisher= [[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |volume= 53 |issue= 1 |pages= 94–119 |doi= 10.1353/tech.2012.0018 |access-date= 24 November 2013 |pmid= 22530389|s2cid=26343964 |url-access= subscription }}</ref> In 1874, the first commercial cargo arrived in the UK.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 January 1935 |title=Jubilee of Craigmillar Creamery |work=[[The Sunday Post]] |url= https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000566/19350106/093/0010# |access-date=11 March 2023}}</ref> By the late-19th century, some 37 companies were manufacturing margarine in the US, in opposition to the butter industry, which protested and lobbied for government intervention, eventually leading to the 1886 Margarine Act imposing prohibitive taxes and fees against margarine manufacturers.<ref name=rupp/>

Shortages in beef-fat supply, combined with advances by [[James F. Boyce]] and [[Paul Sabatier (chemist)|Paul Sabatier]] in the [[hydrogenation]] of plant materials, soon accelerated the use of Bradley's method, and between 1900 and 1920, commercial oleomargarine was produced from a combination of animal fats and hardened and unhardened vegetable oils.<ref name="marketing">{{cite web|url=http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=Article&Filename=/published/emeraldfulltextarticle/pdf/0070200504.pdf|title=The marketing of margarine|last=Clark|first=Paul|date=6 May 1983|work=Paper presented to a seminar on Marketing and Advertising in the 20th Century at Central London Polytechnic|publisher=Emeral Backfiles|page=54|access-date=10 November 2009}}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The [[Great Depression]], followed by [[rationing]] in the [[Rationing in the United States#World War II| United States]] and in the [[Rationing in the United Kingdom#Second World War| United Kingdom]], among other countries, during [[World War II]], led to a reduction in supply of animal fat and butter, and, by 1945, "original" margarine had almost completely disappeared from the market.<ref name="marketing" /> In the United States, problems with supply, coupled with changes in legislation, caused margarine manufacturers to switch almost completely to vegetable oils and fats by 1950, and the margarine industry was ready for an era of product development.<ref name="marketing" />{{dead link|date=March 2024}}

===Color debate===
[[File:Delrich E-Z Color Pak Margarine, 1948.jpg|thumb|right|A 1948 advertisement for margarine with instructions for mixing the color inside a sealed bag.]]
[[Carotene]] in the milk of grass-fed cows gives butter produced from such milk a slightly yellow color. However, being a synthetic product, margarine has a white color resembling  [[lard]], which many people found unappetizing. Around the late 1880s, manufacturers began coloring margarine yellow to improve sales.<ref name=rupp/>

Dairy firms, especially in [[Wisconsin]], became alarmed at the potential threat to their business, and succeeded in getting legislation passed to prohibit the coloring of the stark white margarine by 1902. In response, margarine companies distributed margarine together with a packet of yellow [[food coloring]].<ref name=rupp/> The product was placed in a bowl and the coloring mixed in manually, taking some time and effort, especially if the mixing needed to be done by hand—typically the case at the time since [[mixer (appliance)|domestic electric mixers]] were rarely used before the 1920s. It was therefore not unusual for the final product to be served as a light and dark yellow, or even white, striped product. During [[World War II]], butter and margarine were both in short supply and subject to [[Rationing in the United States#World War II|rationing]] in the United States, but butter required more points, causing margarine to gain popularity.<ref name=rupp/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/food-rationing-on-the-world-war-ii-home-front.htm | title=Food Rationing on the World War II Home Front |first=Megan E. |last=Springate |work=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=22 October 2024 }}</ref> In 1951, the W. E. Dennison Company received US Patent 2553513<ref>{{US Patent|2553513}}</ref> for a method to place a capsule of yellow dye inside a plastic package of margarine. After purchase, the capsule was broken by pressing on the outside of the package, and the package was kneaded to distribute the dye.

The artificial coloring laws began being repealed around 1955, and margarine could once again be sold colored like butter in most states. The final hold out was Wisconsin, which finally repealed its restrictions in 1967.<ref name=rupp/>

===Coal butter===

Around the 1930s and 1940s, Arthur Imhausen developed and implemented an industrial process in Germany for producing edible fats by [[Paraffin oxidation|oxidizing]] [[Fischer–Tropsch process|synthetic paraffin wax]] made from coal.<ref name="Imha1943">{{cite journal | last1 = Imhausen | first1 = Arthur | year = 1943 | title = Die Fettsäure-Synthese und ihre Bedeutung für die Sicherung der deutschen Fettversorgung. | journal = Kolloid-Zeitschrift | volume = 103 | issue = 2| pages = 105–108 | doi = 10.1007/BF01502087 | s2cid = 93119728 }}</ref> The products were [[Fractional distillation|fractionally distilled]] and the edible fats were obtained from the {{chem|C|9}}–{{chem|C|16}} fraction<ref>{{cite book |last1=Whitmore |first1=Frank C. |title=Organic Chemistry, Volume One: Part I: Aliphatic Compounds Part II: Alicyclic Compounds |date=2012 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-486-31115-9 |page=256 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6W_CAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA256 }}</ref> which were reacted with [[glycerol]] such as that synthesized from propylene.<ref name="Chem1946" /> Margarine made from them was found to be nutritious and of agreeable taste, and it was incorporated into diets contributing as much as 700 calories per day.<ref name="Maie2016">{{cite magazine |title=Coal – in Liquid Form |first=Elke |last=Maier |magazine=Max Planck Research |publisher=Max-Planck-Gesellschaft |date=April 2016 |url=https://www.mpg.de/10856815/S004_Flashback_078-079.pdf |pages=78–79 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Ihde1964">{{cite book |title=The Development of Modern Chemistry |url=https://archive.org/details/developmentofmod00ihde |url-access=registration |first=Aaron J. |last=Ihde |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1964 |page=[https://archive.org/details/developmentofmod00ihde/page/683 683]}}</ref> The process required at least 60&nbsp;kilograms of coal per kilogram of synthetic butter.<ref name="Chem1946">{{cite journal |title=Synthetic Soap and Edible Fats |journal=Chemical Age |volume=54 |year=1946 |page=308}}</ref> That industrial process was discontinued after WWII due to its inefficiency.

===Post-WWII===
During the Second World War and immediate post-war years amid [[Rationing in the United Kingdom#Second World War|rationing in the United Kingdom]], only two types of margarine were available: a premium brand and a budget brand with [[whale oil]] being used in its manufacture.{{fact|date=July 2024}} With the end of rationing in 1955, the market was opened to the forces of [[supply and demand]], and brand marketing became prevalent.<ref name="marketing" /> The competition among the major producers was given further impetus with the beginning of commercial television advertising in 1955 and, throughout the 1950s and 1960s, competing companies vied with each other to produce the margarine that tasted most like butter.<ref name="marketing" />

===Spread products===
In the mid-1960s, the introduction of two lower-fat blends of butter oil and vegetable oils in Scandinavia, called ''Lätt & Lagom'' and ''Bregott'', clouded the issue of what should be called "margarine" and began the debate that led to the introduction of the term "spread".<ref name="Rajah" /> In 1978, an 80% fat product called ''Krona'', made by churning a blend of dairy cream and vegetable oils, was introduced in Europe and, in 1982, a blend of cream and vegetable oils called [[Clover (spread)|Clover]] was introduced in the UK by the [[Milk Marketing Board]].<ref name="Rajah" /> The vegetable oil and cream spread [[I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!]] was introduced into the United States in 1981, and in the United Kingdom and Canada in 1991.<ref name="rollout1">Lazarus, George (1 June 1981). [https://archive.today/20130131195111/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/635228442.html?dids=635228442:635228442&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jun+01,+1981&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Filbert+can't+believe+you+won't+like+its+new+butter+blend&pqatl=google "Filbert can't believe you won't like its new butter blend"]. ''Chicago Tribune''. ("Filbert has moved into the Syracuse, Albany, and Pittsburgh markets with a one-pound blend called "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter."") {{Subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unilever.co.uk/ourbrands/foods/icantbelieveitsnotbutter.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050414140644/http://www.unilever.co.uk/ourbrands/foods/icantbelieveitsnotbutter.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 April 2005 |title=Brands in action |access-date=11 January 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unilever.ca/ourbrands/foods/ICBINB.asp |title=I Can't Believe It's Not Butter |access-date=10 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091109224733/http://www.unilever.ca/ourbrands/foods/ICBINB.asp |archive-date=9 November 2009 }}</ref>  In the US, products with less than 80% fat can be labeled spreads, but they can not be called margarine.<ref name="Larson 2023" />  Since the word margarine is less popular with consumers, manufacturers developed some products to have slightly less than the minimum amount of fat, so that they can legally avoid labeling their products as margarine.<ref name="Larson 2023" />

In the 21st century, margarine spreads had many developments to improve their consumer appeal. Most brands phased out the use of [[hydrogenated oil]]s and became [[trans fat]] free. Many brands launched refrigerator-stable margarine spreads that contain only one-third of the fat and calorie content of traditional spreads. Other varieties of spreads include those with added [[omega-3 fatty acid]]s, low or no salt, added [[phytosterol|plant sterols]] (claimed to reduce [[blood cholesterol]]), [[olive oil]], or certified [[vegan]] oils. In the early 21st century, manufacturers provided margarines in plastic squeeze bottles to ease dispensing and offered pink margarine as a novelty.<ref name=rupp/>  

==Manufacturing process==
[[File:Swift's Premium Oleomargarine (20107649).jpg|thumb|Postcard of "Incorporating Salt and Working Moisture out of "Swift's Premium" Oleomargarine", undated]]

The basic method of making margarine today consists of emulsifying a blend of oils and fats from vegetable and animal sources, which can be modified using [[fractionation]], [[interesterification]] or [[hydrogenation]], with skimmed milk which may be fermented or soured, salt, citric or lactic acid, chilling the mixture to solidify it, and working it to improve the texture.<ref name="Food Industries Manual" /><ref name="Clay1920">{{cite book |title=Margarine |last=Clayton |first=William |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co. |year=1920 |url=https://archive.org/details/margarine00clayuoft}}</ref> Margarines and vegetable fat spreads found in the market can range from 10% to 90% fat, depending on dietary marketing and purpose (spreading, cooking or baking). The softer tub margarines are made with less hydrogenated and more liquid oils than block margarines.<ref name="through the ages">{{cite web|url=http://www.webexhibits.org/butter/margarine.html|title=Margarine|last=Anon|work=Butter through the ages|publisher=webexhibits.org|access-date=10 November 2009}}</ref>

Three types of margarine are common:
* Bottled liquid margarine to cook or top dishes.
* Soft vegetable fat spreads, high in mono- or polyunsaturated fats, which are made from [[safflower]], [[sunflower]], [[soybean]], [[cottonseed]], [[rapeseed]], or [[olive]] oil.
* Hard margarine (sometimes uncolored) for cooking or baking.

To produce margarine, first oils and fats are [[Cooking oil#Extraction|extracted]], e.g. by pressing from seeds, and then [[Cooking oil#Refinement|refined]]. Oils may undergo a full or partial hydrogenation process to solidify them. The milk/water mixture is kept separate from the oil mixture until the emulsion step. The fats are warmed so that they are liquid during the mixing process. The water-soluble additives are added to the water or milk mixture, and [[emulsifiers]] such as [[lecithin]] are added to help disperse the water phase evenly throughout the oil. Other water-soluble additives include powdered skim milk, salt, citric acid, lactic acid, and preservatives such as [[potassium sorbate]]. The fat soluble additives are mixed into the oil. These include carotenoids for coloring and antioxidants. Then the two mixtures are emulsified by slowly adding the oil into the milk/water mixture with constant stirring. Next, the mixture is cooled. Rapid chilling avoids the production of large crystals and results in a smooth texture. The product is then rolled or kneaded. Finally, the product may be aerated with nitrogen to facilitate spreading it.

===Hydrogenation===
[[File:H2forMargerin.png|thumb|320px|Partial [[hydrogenation]] of a typical plant oil to a typical component of margarine.  Most of the C=C double bonds are removed in this process, which elevates the melting point of the product.]]
Vegetable and animal fats are similar compounds with different [[melting point]]s. Fats that are liquid at room temperature are generally known as oils. The melting points are related to the presence of carbon–carbon double bonds in the fatty acids components. A higher number of double bonds gives a lower melting point. Oils can be converted into solid substances at room temperature through hydrogenation.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B0-12-227055-X/01226-8 |chapter=Vegetable Oils &#124; Oil Production and Processing |title=Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition |date=2003 |last1=Hamm |first1=W. |pages=5904–5916 |isbn=978-0-12-227055-0 }}</ref>

Commonly, natural oils are hydrogenated by passing [[hydrogen]] gas through the oil in the presence of a [[nickel]] [[catalyst]], under controlled conditions.<ref name=":0" /> The addition of hydrogen to the unsaturated bonds (alkenic double C=C bonds) results in saturated C–C bonds, effectively increasing the melting point of the oil and thus "hardening" it. This is due to the increase in [[van der Waals' force]]s between the saturated molecules compared with the unsaturated molecules. However, as there are possible health benefits in limiting the amount of saturated fats in the human diet, the process is controlled so that only enough of the bonds are hydrogenated to give the required texture. Margarines made in this way are said to contain hydrogenated fat.<ref name="chemguide">{{cite web|url=http://www.chemguide.co.uk/organicprops/alkenes/hydrogenation.html|title=The Hydrogenation of Alkenes:Margarine Manufacture|last=Clark|first=Jim|work=Chemguide: Helping you to understand Chemistry|access-date=9 November 2009}}</ref> This method is used today for some margarines although the process has been developed and sometimes other metal catalysts are used such as [[palladium]].<ref name="Food Industries Manual" /> If hydrogenation is incomplete (partial hardening), the relatively high temperatures used in the hydrogenation process tend to flip some of the carbon–carbon double bonds into the "trans" form. If these particular bonds are not hydrogenated during the process, they remain present in the final margarine in molecules of [[trans fats]],<ref name="chemguide" /> the consumption of which has been shown to be a risk factor for [[cardiovascular disease]].<ref name=p423>{{cite book|last = Food and nutrition board, institute of medicine of the national academies | title = Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Macronutrients) | publisher = National Academies Press | year = 2005 | page = 423 | doi = 10.17226/10490 | isbn = 978-0-309-08525-0 | url = http://www.nap.edu/openbook/0309085373/html/423.html}}</ref> For this reason, partially hardened fats are used less and less in the margarine industry. Some tropical oils, such as [[palm oil]] and [[coconut oil]], are naturally semi-solid and do not require hydrogenation.<ref name="MPOC">{{cite web| url=http://www.malaysiapalmoil.org/publications/pdf/book01.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225235201/http://www.malaysiapalmoil.org/publications/pdf/book01.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-date=25 February 2020| title=Palm Oil/Palm Kernel Oil Applications – Margarine| publisher=The Malaysian Palm Oil Council| access-date=4 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="soyoil">{{cite web|url=http://www.soyinfocenter.com/HSS/margarine1.php|title=History of Soy Oil Margarine|last1= Shurtleff |first1=William|last2=Aoyagi|first2=Akiko|year=2007|publisher= Soyinfo Center|access-date=4 January 2010}}</ref>

==Nutrition==

{{nutritional value
| name=Margarine, soybean oil spread, 70% fat
| water=26.2 g
| kJ=2627
| protein=0.3 g
| fat=70.2 g
| carbs=1.5 g
| calcium_mg=7
| iron_mg=0.12
| magnesium_mg=2
| phosphorus_mg=10
| potassium_mg=46
| sodium_mg=700
| zinc_mg=0.06
| manganese_mg=0.014
| vitA_iu=3571
| vitC_mg=0
| vitE_mg=5.6 <!-- {{#expr: (5.59 + 0.32 + 34.97 + 10.92) round 1 }} total tocopherol -->
| thiamin_mg=0.052
| riboflavin_mg=0.025
| pantothenic_mg=0.001
| vitB6_mg=0.003
| folate_ug=1
| note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/173588/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]
}}

In a 100-gram reference amount, margarine – manufactured from soybean oil and [[pasteurization|pasteurized]] – provides {{convert|628|kcal|kJ}} and is composed of 70% fat, 2% [[carbohydrate]]s, 26% water, and negligible [[Protein (nutrient)|protein]]. The reference margarine was rich in [[vitamin E]] (37% of the [[Daily Value]], DV), containing 35&nbsp;mg [[gamma-tocopherol]]) and [[sodium]] (30% DV) [[Food additive|added]] as salt for flavor (table). Unless [[food fortification|fortified]] with [[micronutrient]]s during manufacturing, there are no other nutrients in significant content. [[Vitamin A]] and [[vitamin D]] may be added for fortification.

===Amount of fat===
The roles of butter and traditional margarine (80% fat) are similar with respect to their energy content, but low-fat margarines and spreads are also widely available.<ref name="amount-of-fat">{{cite web |url=http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fat/NU00262 |title=Dietary fats: Know which types to choose|publisher=Mayo Clinic |date=31 January 2007 |access-date=18 May 2008}}</ref>

===Saturated fat===
Replacing saturated and [[Trans-unsaturated fatty acid|trans unsaturated]] fats with unhydrogenated monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats is more effective in preventing coronary heart disease than reducing overall fat intake.<ref name=Hu_et_al>{{cite journal |doi=10.1056/NEJM199711203372102 |last=F. B. Hu|title=Dietary Fat Intake and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women |journal=The New England Journal of Medicine |volume=337|issue=21 |pages=1491–1499 |display-authors=etal |pmid=9366580 |date=November 1997|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Müller et al. 2003">{{cite journal |last1=Müller |first1=Hanne |last2=Lindman |first2=Anja S. |last3=Brantsæter |first3=Anne Lise |last4=Pedersen |first4=Jan I. |title=The Serum LDL/HDL Cholesterol Ratio Is Influenced More Favorably by Exchanging Saturated with Unsaturated Fat Than by Reducing Saturated Fat in the Diet of Women |journal=The Journal of Nutrition |date=January 2003 |volume=133 |issue=1 |pages=78–83 |doi=10.1093/jn/133.1.78 |pmid=12514271 }}</ref><ref name="Hu, Manson, Willett 2001">{{cite journal |last1=Hu |first1=Frank B. |last2=Manson |first2=JoAnn E. |last3=Willett |first3=Walter C. |title=Types of Dietary Fat and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A Critical Review |journal=Journal of the American College of Nutrition |date=February 2001 |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=5–19 |doi=10.1080/07315724.2001.10719008 |pmid=11293467 }}</ref><ref name="Jeppesen et al. 2001">{{cite journal |last1=Jeppesen |first1=Jørgen |last2=Hein |first2=Hans Ole |last3=Suadicani |first3=Poul |last4=Gyntelberg |first4=Finn |title=Low Triglycerides–High High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease |journal=Archives of Internal Medicine |date=12 February 2001 |volume=161 |issue=3 |pages=361–366 |doi=10.1001/archinte.161.3.361 |pmid=11176761 |doi-access=free }}</ref> See [[saturated fat and cardiovascular disease]].

Vegetable fats can contain anything from 7% to 86% saturated fatty acids. Liquid oils ([[Canola|canola oil]], [[sunflower oil]]) tend to be on the low end, while tropical oils ([[coconut oil]], [[Palm oil|palm kernel oil]]) and fully hardened ([[Hydrogenation|hydrogenated]]) oils are at the high end of the scale.<ref name=fatoils>{{cite web |url=http://www.nutristrategy.com/fatsoils.htm |title=Fats, Cooking Oils and Fatty Acids |author=NutriStrategy |year=2005 |access-date=18 May 2008}}</ref> A margarine blend is a mixture of both types of components. Generally, firmer margarines contain more saturated fat.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-391882-6.00006-6 |chapter=Lipids Basics: Fats and Oils in Foods and Health |title=Culinary Nutrition |date=2013 |last1=Marcus |first1=Jacqueline B. |pages=231–277 |isbn=978-0-12-391882-6 }}</ref>

Typical soft tub margarine contains 10% to 20% of saturated fat.<ref name=Fineli>{{cite web |url=http://www.fineli.fi/foodlist.php?foodname=M%&lang=en |title=Foods |publisher=National Institute for Health and Welfare (Finland) |date=2003–2010 |access-date=10 October 2010 |archive-date=19 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719115946/http://www.fineli.fi/foodlist.php?foodname=M%&lang=en |url-status=dead }}</ref> Regular [[butterfat]] contains 52 to 65% saturated fats.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nal.usda.gov/human-nutrition-and-food-safety/dri-calculator |title=Search the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference |publisher=USDA |access-date=11 January 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303184216/http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ |archive-date=3 March 2015 }}</ref> The [[National Academy of Medicine|American Institute of Medicine]] and the [[European Food Safety Authority]] recommend saturated fat intake to be as low as possible.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aranceta |first1=Javier |last2=Pérez-Rodrigo |first2=Carmen |title=Recommended dietary reference intakes, nutritional goals and dietary guidelines for fat and fatty acids: a systematic review |journal=British Journal of Nutrition |date=June 2012 |volume=107 |issue=S2 |pages=S8–S22 |doi=10.1017/S0007114512001444 |pmid=22591906 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Unsaturated fat===
Consumption of [[unsaturated fat]]ty acids has been found to decrease LDL cholesterol levels and increase HDL cholesterol levels in the blood, thus reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.<ref name="Müller et al. 2003" /><ref name="Hu, Manson, Willett 2001" /><ref name="Jeppesen et al. 2001" />

There are two types of unsaturated oils: mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, both of which are recognized as beneficial to health in contrast to saturated fats. Some widely grown vegetable oils, such as [[canola]], [[sunflower]], [[safflower]], and [[olive]] oils contain high amounts of unsaturated fats.<ref name=fatoils /> During the manufacture of margarine, makers may convert some unsaturated fat into hydrogenated fats or [[trans fats]] to give them a higher melting point so they stay solid at room temperatures.<ref name=":1" />

* ''Omega-3 fatty acids''<br />Omega-3 fatty acids are a family of [[polyunsaturated fatty acids]]. This is one of the two [[essential fatty acid]]s, so called because humans cannot manufacture it and must get it from food. Omega-3 fatty acids are mostly obtained from [[oily fish]] caught in northern waters. They are comparatively uncommon in vegetable sources, including margarine. However, one type of omega-3 fatty acid, [[alpha-linolenic acid]] (ALA) can be found in some vegetable oils. [[Flax oil]] contains 30–50% of ALA, and is becoming a popular dietary supplement to rival fish oils; both are often added to premium margarines. Small amounts of ALA are found in vegetable oils such as [[soybean oil]] (7.8%) and canola oil (9.2%).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kris-Etherton |first1=Pm |last2=Taylor |first2=Denise Shaffer |last3=Yu-Poth |first3=Shaomei |last4=Huth |first4=Peter |last5=Moriarty |first5=Kristin |last6=Fishell |first6=Valerie |last7=Hargrove |first7=Rebecca L |last8=Zhao |first8=Guixiang |last9=Etherton |first9=Terry D |title=Polyunsaturated fatty acids in the food chain in the United States |journal=The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition |date=January 2000 |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=179S–188S |doi=10.1093/ajcn/71.1.179S |doi-access=free |pmid=10617969 }}</ref>
* ''Omega-6 fatty acids''<br />Omega-6 fatty acids are also important for health. They include the essential fatty acid [[linoleic acid]] (LA), which is abundant in vegetable oils grown in temperate climates. Some, such as [[hemp]] (60%) and the common margarine oils corn (60%), cottonseed (50%) and sunflower (50%), have large amounts, but most temperate oil seeds have over 10% LA. Margarine is typically high in omega-6 fatty acids.

===Trans fat===
Unlike essential fatty acids, trans fatty acids are not essential and are widely known to cause a host of medical problems in humans and raise overall mortality.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kiage |first=James N. |last2=Merrill |first2=Peter D. |last3=Robinson |first3=Cody J. |last4=Cao |first4=Yue |last5=Malik |first5=Talha A. |last6=Hundley |first6=Barrett C. |last7=Lao |first7=Ping |last8=Judd |first8=Suzanne E. |last9=Cushman |first9=Mary |last10=Howard |first10=Virginia J. |last11=Kabagambe |first11=Edmond K. |date=May 2013 |title=Intake of trans fat and all-cause mortality in the Reasons for Geographical and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3628378/ |journal=The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition |volume=97 |issue=5 |pages=1121–1128 |doi=10.3945/ajcn.112.049064 |issn=1938-3207 |pmc=3628378 |pmid=23553155}}</ref> Trans fat raise levels of [[low-density lipoprotein|LDL]] cholesterol, lower levels of [[high-density lipoprotein|HDL]] cholesterol, increase the risk of prostate and colorectal cancer, and are correlated with low birthweight in infants.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trans fat: Avoid this cholesterol double whammy |publisher=Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research |url=http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/trans-fat/CL00032 |access-date=10 December 2007 }}</ref> This has led to their banning in major countries including the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yes, Trans Fats Still Exist After the Ban |url=https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-trans-fats-are-bad-for-you |access-date=2025-10-23 |website=Cleveland Clinic |language=en}}</ref>

In the United States, partial [[hydrogenation]], which produces trans fats, had been common as a result of preference for domestically produced oils. Recently, new margarine varieties have been developed that contain less or no trans fat.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Van Duijn |first1=Gerrit |title=Technical aspects of trans reduction in modified fats |journal=Oléagineux, Corps gras, Lipides |date=September 2005 |volume=12 |issue=5–6 |pages=422–426 |doi=10.1051/ocl.2005.0422 |doi-access=free }}</ref> As of 2021, foods with added partially-hydrogenated oils should no longer be on US store shelves.<ref>{{cite web|title=Final Determination Regarding Partially Hydrogenated Oils (Removing Trans Fat)|url=https://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/FoodAdditivesIngredients/ucm449162.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618214145/http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/FoodAdditivesIngredients/ucm449162.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 June 2015|publisher=US Food and Drug Administration|access-date=5 December 2017|date=29 September 2017}}</ref>

===Plant sterol esters and stanol esters===
Plant [[sterol ester]]s or plant [[stanol ester]]s have been added to some margarines and spreads because of their cholesterol-lowering effect. Several studies have indicated that consumption of about 2 grams per day provides a reduction in LDL cholesterol of about 10%.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Efficacy and Safety of Plant Stanols and Sterols in the Management of Blood Cholesterol Levels |author=Katan |journal=Mayo Clinic Proceedings |year=2003 |volume=78 |issue=8 |pages=965–78 |doi=10.4065/78.8.965 |pmid=12911045 |display-authors=etal |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="IFIC-07">{{cite web|url=http://www.ific.org/publications/factsheets/sterolfs.cfm |title=Functional Foods Fact Sheet: Plant Stanols and Sterols |author=IFIC |date=July 2007 |access-date=8 April 2008 |author-link=International Food Information Council |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411003503/http://www.ific.org/publications/factsheets/sterolfs.cfm |archive-date=11 April 2008 }}</ref>

===Market acceptance===
Margarine, particularly polyunsaturated margarine, has become a major part of the Western diet and had overtaken butter in popularity in the mid-20th century.<ref name="through the ages" /> In the United States, for example, in 1930, the average person ate over {{convert|18|lb|abbr=on}} of butter a year and just over {{convert|2|lb|abbr=on}} of margarine. By the end of the 20th century, an average American ate around {{convert|5|lb|abbr=on}} of butter and nearly {{convert|8|lb|abbr=on}} of margarine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webexhibits.org/butter/consumption-butter-fat.html|title=Eating less butter and more fat|last=Anon|work=Butter through the Ages|publisher=webexhibits.org|access-date=10 November 2009}}</ref>

Consumers may choose margarine for a number of reasons, including lower cost, ease of availability, a perception (primarily relevant for vegetable-based margarines) that it is healthier than butter, a desire to avoid consuming animal-based products (of particular concern for [[vegan]]s and also based on the assumption that the margarine is vegetable-based) or a simple personal preference to butter or other spreads for taste.{{cn|date=July 2025}}

Margarine has a particular market value to those who observe the Jewish dietary laws of [[Kashrut]], which forbids the mixing of meat and dairy products; hence there are strictly [[kosher]] non-dairy margarines available, known as [[pareve]]. One brand known to the Kosher-keeping public is Fleischmann's Margarine. These are often used by the kosher-observant consumers to adapt recipes that use meat and butter or in baked goods served with meat meals. The [[2008 Passover margarine shortage]] in America caused much consternation within the kosher-observant community.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zimmerman |first=Ann |title=What's Different This Passover? No Margarine - WSJ |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120835576139919511 |access-date=2024-03-02 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref>

==National standards==

===Australia===
Margarine is common in Australian supermarkets. Sales of the product have decreased in recent years due to consumers "reducing their use of spreads in their daily diet".<ref name="bandt.com.au">{{cite web|url=http://www.bandt.com.au/news/ea/0c00eeea.asp |title=Meadow Lea's healthy message to boost market |access-date=3 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050507092417/http://www.bandt.com.au/news/ea/0c00eeea.asp |archive-date=7 May 2005 }}</ref> Butter-colored margarine was sold from its introduction in Australia, but dairy and associated industries lobbied governments strongly in a vain attempt to have them change its color, or ban it altogether.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131669787 | title=The Canberra Times | date=9 September 1968 }}</ref>

[[Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code]] – Standard 2.4.2 – Edible Oil Spreads requires that edible oil spreads and table margarine must contain no less than 55 μg/kg of vitamin D.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2011C00574 |title=Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 2.4.2 – Edible Oil Spreads (PDF version).|date=11 July 2011 }}</ref>

===Canada===
Canadian standard B.09.016 states that margarine shall be:
<blockquote>
"An emulsion of fat, or water in fat, oil, or fat and oil that are not derived from milk and shall contain not less than 80% fat and not less than 3300 [[International unit|IU]] of vitamin A and 530 IU of vitamin D, and may contain
(i) skim milk powder, buttermilk powder or liquid buttermilk,
(ii) whey solids or modified whey solids,"<ref name="Gunstone">{{cite book|last=Gunstone |first=Frank D. |author2=Fred B. Padley|title=Lipid technologies and applications  |publisher=CRC Press|date=13 May 1997|page=311|isbn=978-0-8247-9838-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MccA-I5PgIsC&q=plastic%20or%20fluid%20emulsion%20of%20fat%2C%20or%20water%20in%20fat%2C%20oil%2C%20or%20fat%20and%20oil%20that%20are%20not%20derived%20from%20milk%20and%20shall%20contain%20not%20less%20than%2080%25%20fat&pg=PA311}}</ref>
</blockquote>
Calorie-reduced margarine is specified in standard B.09.017 as:
<blockquote>
"Containing not less than 40% fat and having 50% of the calories normally present in margarine."<ref name="Gunstone"/>
</blockquote>

In 2007, [[Health Canada]] released an updated version of [[Canada's Food Guide]] that recommended Canadians choose "soft" margarine spreads that are low in saturated and trans fats and limit traditional "hard" margarines, butter, lard, and shortening in their diets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/choose-choix/oil-huile/oil-huile-eng.php|title=What Type and Amount of Fat Do I Need?|access-date=11 January 2015}}</ref>

===European Union===
Under European Union directives,<ref name="EU_legal">{{cite web|url=http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_packaging/l21107_en.htm|title=Spreadable fats (dairy and non-dairy): Definition, labelling and sale|access-date=5 January 2010}}</ref> distinguishes between spreadable fats:
<blockquote>
"A water-in-oil emulsion derived from vegetable/animal fats, with a fat content of at least 10% but less than 90%, that remain solid at a temperature of 20°C and are suitable as spread."
</blockquote>

and margarine:
<blockquote>
"To avoid any possible confusion, the Regulation limits the use of the terms "butter" and "margarine" to products with a fat content of not less than 80%."
</blockquote>

Margarines may not have a milk fat content of more than 3%. For blends and blended spreads, the milk fat may be between 10% and 80%.<ref name="IMACE">{{cite web|url=http://www.imace.org/issues/eu-legislation/|title=EU Margarine legislation|last=Anon|work=Website of the International Margarine Association of the Countries of Europe|publisher=IMACE|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514105538/http://www.imace.org/issues/eu-legislation/|archive-date=2015-05-14|access-date=11 November 2009}}</ref>

Spread that contains 60 to 62% of fat may be called "three-quarter-fat margarine" or "reduced-fat margarine".
Spread that contains 39 to 41% of fat may be called "half-fat margarine", "low-fat margarine", or "light margarine".
Spreads with any other percentage of fat are called "fat spread" or "light spread".

Many member states currently require the mandatory addition of vitamins A and D to margarine and fat spreads for reasons of public health. Voluntary fortification of margarine with vitamins had been practiced by manufacturers since 1925, but in 1940 with the advent of the war, certain governments took action to safeguard the nutritional status of their nations by making the addition of vitamin A and D compulsory. This mandatory fortification was justified in the view that margarine was being used to replace butter in the diet.<ref name="IMAC COP">{{cite web|url=http://www.imace.org/margarine/pdf/vitamin.pdf |title=Code of Practice on Vitamin A&D fortification of fats and spreads |last=Anon |work=IMACE Code of practice |publisher=IMACE |access-date=10 November 2009|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003222930/http://www.imace.org/margarine/pdf/vitamin.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2011}}</ref>

=== United Kingdom ===
In the United Kingdom, no brands of spread on sale contain partially hydrogenated oils. Fortification with vitamins A and D is no longer mandatory for margarine; <ref>{{Cite web |date=February 2014 |title=Consultation on revoking Regulation 4 of the Spreadable Fats (Marketing Standards) and Milk and Milk Products (Protection of Designations) (England) Regulations 2008 – margarine fortification |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/287673/margarine-fortification-sum-resp-201403.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331183702/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/287673/margarine-fortification-sum-resp-201403.pdf |archive-date=31 March 2022 |access-date=19 May 2023 |website=United Kingdom Government}}</ref> this brings it in line with other spreads wherein fortification is not required.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.margarine.org.uk/whatisspread-content.html |title=What's in a margarine spread? |last=Anon |work=Website of the Margarines and Spreads Association |publisher=MSA |access-date=10 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028021618/http://www.margarine.org.uk/whatisspread-content.html |archive-date=28 October 2009 }}</ref>

==Legal issues==
Since margarine intrinsically appears white or almost white, by preventing the addition of artificial coloring agents, legislators found they could limit competition against the dairy industries by discouraging the consumption of margarine based on visual appeal. If margarine were colored the same as butter, consumers would see it as being virtually the same thing as butter, and as a quasi-natural product. Bans on adding color became commonplace in the United States, Canada, and Denmark and, in some cases, those bans endured for almost 100 years. The rivalry between the dairy industry and the oleomargarine industry persists even today.<ref name="O'Connor">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/science/16real.html| title=The Claim: Margarine Is Healthier Than Butter.| last=O'Connor| first=Anahad| date=16 October 2007| work=New York Times| access-date=10 October 2009}}</ref>

===Canada===
In Canada, margarine was prohibited from 1886 to 1948, though this ban was temporarily lifted from 1917 until 1923 due to dairy shortages.<ref name=cana/> Nevertheless, bootleg margarine was produced in the neighboring [[Dominion of Newfoundland]] from whale, [[Omega-3 fatty acid#Seal oil|seal]], and [[Fish oil|fish]] oil by the [[Newfoundland Butter Company]] and was smuggled to Canada where it was widely sold for half the price of butter. The [[Supreme Court of Canada]] lifted the margarine ban in 1948 in the [[Margarine Reference]]. That year, Newfoundland negotiated its entry into the Canadian Confederation, and one of its three non-negotiable conditions for union with Canada was "an assurance that Newfoundland would be able to continue to manufacture and sell margarine".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chapter 2, Expectations as We Joined Canada |url=https://www.gov.nl.ca/publicat/royalcomm/section2.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119110904/https://www.gov.nl.ca/publicat/royalcomm/section2.pdf |archive-date=19 November 2022 |access-date=19 May 2023 |website=Government of Newfoundland and Labrador |page=5}}</ref>

In 1950, as a result of a court ruling giving provinces the right to regulate the product, rules were implemented in much of Canada regarding margarine's color, requiring that it be bright yellow or orange in some provinces or colorless in others. By the 1980s, most provinces had lifted the restriction. However, in [[Ontario]] it was not legal to sell butter-colored margarine until 1995.<ref name=cana>{{cite news| title=Canada's conflicted relationship with margarine| url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/food/margarine.html| access-date=28 August 2007| publisher=CBC News Online| date=18 March 2005}}</ref> [[Quebec]], the last Canadian province to regulate margarine coloring, repealed its law requiring margarine to be colorless in July 2008.<ref name=queb>{{cite news| title=Resolving Canada's conflicted relationship with margarine| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/resolving-canada-s-conflicted-relationship-with-margarine-1.741363| access-date=10 July 2008| publisher=CBC News Online| date=9 July 2008}}</ref>

===New Zealand===
In New Zealand, the Margarine Acts of 1895 and 1908 prohibited the manufacture of margarine without a licence from the [[Minister of Agriculture (New Zealand)|Minister of Agriculture]] and made it illegal to "mix, colour, stain, or powder margarine with any ingredient or material so as to imitate butter".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/ma189559v1895n27175.pdf|title=Margarine Act 1895|publisher=Government of New Zealand}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.enzs.auckland.ac.nz/docs/1908/1908C111.pdf|title=Margarine Act 1908|publisher=Government of New Zealand}}</ref> The acts were repealed by the ''Dairy Industry Amendment Act 1989'', however previous amendments in 1972 and 1980 had allowed "virtually an opened market".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.vdig.net/hansard/archive.jsp?y=1989&m=12&d=12&o=40&p=43|title=Dairy Industry Amendment Bill: Report of Primary Production Committee|work=Hansard|publisher=New Zealand Parliament|date=12 December 1989}}</ref>

===United States===
[[File:The Ladies' home journal (1948) (14786167483).jpg|thumb|Cudahy's Delrich brand of margarine used a "color berry" to color its white vegetable-based margarine yellow. This 1948 advertisement demonstrates how to color the margarine inside the package]]
In 1877, New York became the first U.S. state to attempt legal restriction of the sale of oleomargarine through compulsory labeling. The law, "to prevent deception in sales of butter," required retailers to provide customers with a slip of paper that identified the "imitation" product as margarine. This law proved ineffective, as it would have required an army of inspectors and chemists to enforce it. By the mid-1880s, the U.S. federal government had introduced a tax of two cents per pound, and manufacturers needed an expensive license to make or sell the product. The simple expedient of requiring oleo manufacturers to color their product distinctively was, however, left out of early federal legislation. But individual states began to require the clear labeling of margarine. The color bans, drafted by the butter lobby, began in the dairy states of New York and [[New Jersey]]. In several states, legislatures enacted laws to require margarine manufacturers to add pink colorings<ref>{{cite web  |last=Eschner |first=Kat |title=The 1870s Dairy Lobby Turned Margarine Pink So People Would Buy Butter |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1870s-dairy-lobby-turned-margarine-pink-so-people-would-buy-butter-180963328/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine|date=May 23, 2017 |language=en}}</ref> to make the product look unpalatable, despite the objections of the oleo manufacturers that butter dairies themselves added [[annatto]] to their product to imitate the yellow of mid-summer butter.<ref name=Okun1986>
{{cite book
  |first=Mitchell|last=Okun
  |title=Fair Play in the Marketplace: The First Battle for Pure Food and Drugs
  |url=https://archive.org/details/fairplayinmarket0000okun|url-access=registration|year=1986
  |publisher=Northern Illiinois University Press
  |isbn=9780875801155
  |pages=[https://archive.org/details/fairplayinmarket0000okun/page/254 254], 263, 266
}}</ref>

By the start of the 20th century, eight out of ten Americans could not buy yellow margarine, and those who could had to pay a hefty tax on it. [[Counterfeit|Bootleg]] colored margarine became common, and manufacturers began to supply food-coloring capsules so the consumer could knead the yellow color into margarine before serving it. Nevertheless, the regulations and taxes had a significant effect: the 1902 restrictions on margarine color, for example, cut annual consumption in the United States from {{convert|120000000|to| 48000000|lb|t|-3}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Adam |date=2002-06-01 |title=The War on Margarine {{!}} Adam Young |url=https://fee.org/articles/the-war-on-margarine/ |access-date=2024-03-02 |website=fee.org |language=en}}</ref>

With the coming of [[World War I]], margarine consumption increased enormously, even in countries away from the front, such as the United States. In the countries closest to the fighting, dairy products became almost unobtainable and were strictly [[rationing|rationed]]. The United Kingdom, for example, depended on imported butter from Australia and New Zealand, and the risk of [[submarine]] attacks meant little arrived.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Voices of the First World War: Life On The Home Front |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/voices-of-the-first-world-war-life-on-the-home-front |access-date=2024-03-02 |website=Imperial War Museums |language=en}}</ref>

The long-running battle between the margarine and dairy lobbies continued: in the United States, the [[Great Depression]] brought a renewed wave of pro-dairy legislation; the [[Second World War]], a swing back to margarine. After the war, the margarine lobby gained power and, little by little, the main margarine restrictions were lifted, the most recent states to do so being [[Minnesota]] in 1963 and [[Wisconsin]] in 1967.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dupré |first1=Ruth |title='If It's Yellow, It Must Be Butter': Margarine Regulation in North America Since 1886 |journal=The Journal of Economic History |date=June 1999 |volume=59 |issue=2 |pages=353–371 |doi=10.1017/S0022050700022865 |jstor=2566555 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first=Gerry|last=Strey|url=https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wmh/id/42226/rec/73|title=The "Oleo Wars": Wisconsin's Fight over the Demon Spread|magazine=Wisconsin Magazine of History|volume=85|number=1|date=Autumn 2001|pages=2–15}}</ref> Lois Dowdle Cobb (1889–1987) of [[Atlanta]], wife of the agricultural publisher [[Cully Cobb]], led the move in the United States to lift the restrictions on margarine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cobb.msstate.edu/cobbfndr.html|title=The Founders of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology|publisher=msstate.edu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507013011/http://www.cobb.msstate.edu/cobbfndr.html|archive-date=2019-05-07|access-date=16 July 2010}}</ref> Some unenforced laws remain on the books.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/pagedetails.action?browsePath=Title+21%2FChapter+9%2FSubchapter+IV%2FSec.+347&granuleId=USCODE-2010-title21-chap9-subchapIV-sec347&packageId=USCODE-2010-title21&collapse=true&fromBrowse=true|title=21 U.S.C. 347 – Intrastate sales of colored oleomargarine|access-date=11 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2008-12-16-butter-crime_N.htm?csp=34
|title=Yellow margarine: I Can't Believe It's Not Legal! |publisher=AP / USA Today |date=16 December 2008}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Food}}
* [[Cooking oil]]
* [[List of spreads]]
* [[Spread (food)]]
* [[Shortening]]
* [[:Category:Margarine brands|Margarine brands (Category)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Wiktionary}}
{{Fats and oils}}
{{Milk substitutes}}
{{Vegetarianism}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Margarine|*]]
[[Category:1869 introductions]]
[[Category:Animal product analogs]]
[[Category:Cooking fats]]
[[Category:French inventions]]
[[Category:Spreads (food)]]