A food additive useful for lowering serum cholesterol in humans contains a
sterol or stanol ester of a fatty acid or a dicarboxylic acid ester of a
sterol or stanol made by reacting a sterol, stanol and a carboxylic acid
in the presence of an effective amount of a catalyst selected from the
group consisting of calcium oxide, calcium hydroxide, a calcium salt of a
carboxylic acid, magnesium hydroxide and combinations thereof described
herein below.
