TITLE:
Assessment of Trans Fatty Acid Content in Widely Consumed Snacks by Gas Chromatography in a Developing Country
AUTHORS:
Smita Karn, Ransi Ann Abraham, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan
KEYWORDS:
Trans Fatty Acid; Gas Chromatography; Snack; Health Risk
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.4 No.12,
December
10,
2013
ABSTRACT: Trans fatty acids have adverse effects on health, so knowledge
of their contents in foods would enable people to make
informed food choices. TFA levels when not available in food composition tables
make it difficult to estimate dietary intake. With the aim to analyze and
identify the actual amount of trans fatty acid present in selected Indian fast
food items, triplicate samples of six commonly consumed snacks as well as the
oil used for preparing the same were collected from three different places. The
separation of fatty acid was done using gas chromatography. Trans fatty acid isomers of oleic acid,
linoleic acid and linolenic acid were identified in all food items. The
predominant trans fatty acid present in all the food items was elaidic acid
(18:1t9). The total trans fatty acids in different food items ranged from
almost negligible to as high as 14.58 g/100g food. Different amount of TFA was
found in same food category sourced from different outlets which is a challenge
in making regulations aimed at TFA reduction so as to decrease health risk.