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.