TransFatty Acids in Dietary Fats and Oils from 14 European Countries: The TRANSFAIR Study

• Published in: Journal of food composition and analysis Vol. 11; no. 2; pp. 137 - 149
• Main Authors: Aro, A., Van Amelsvoort, J., Becker, W., van Erp-Baart, M.-A., Kafatos, A., Leth, T., van Poppel, G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.06.1998
• ISSN: 0889-1575; 1096-0481
• DOI: 10.1006/jfca.1998.0569

The fatty acid composition of dietary fats and oils from 14 European countries was analyzed with particular emphasis on isomerictransfatty acids. The proportion oftransfatty acids in typical soft margarines and low-fat spreads ranged between 0.1 and 17% of total fatty acids and that ofcis-unsaturated fatty acids between 55 and 81%. Hard household margarines and industrial fats for cooking and baking (shortenings) had slightly higher proportions oftransfatty acids and highest amounts, up to 50%, were found in fats for deep frying. Vegetable oils contained only small amounts oftransfatty acids, usually less than 1%. Isomers of C18:1 comprised up to 94% of thetransfatty acids in hardened vegetable oils and 52–68% in butter, whereas hardened fish oils showed a more even distribution oftransmonoenoic fatty acids between C16:1 and C22:1, and C18:1 isomers contributed by 28–42% to totaltransfatty acids. Fat spreads with very low content (<1%) oftransfatty acids were found in all but one of the countries, and a general tendency to products lower intransfatty acids was observed in most countries for soft margarines and low-fat spreads but not for industrial fats and fat products for cooking and frying. The fatty acid composition of the spreads indicated that both C12–16 saturated fatty acids andcis-unsaturated fatty acids had been used to replacetransfatty acids in the low-transfatty acid products in the different countries but the use of increased amounts of stearic acid was very limited.