Fatty acid profile of processed foods in Greece with focus on trans fatty acids

Abstract

The adverse health effects of trans fatty acids (TFA) are well recognised. The Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/649 specifies that foods should not contain more than 2 g of industrially produced TFA (i-TFA) per 100 g of fat. This study aimed to investigate the fatty acid profile, with focus on TFA and i-TFA, of foods widely consumed in Greece that are purported to contain high TFA concentrations. Sweet and savoury (i.e. non-sweet), prepacked and non-prepacked (i.e. loose) processed foods (N = 140) were sampled. After lipid extraction, the fatty acid profile of each sample was determined by gas chromatography. Estimation of ruminant TFA (r-TFA) was based on butyric acid values. i-TFA was assessed after subtraction of r-TFA from total TFA. Both total and i-TFA contents of cakes, biscuits, croissants and doughnuts on average were low (< 2% of total fat), even though the saturated fat content of some products from these food groups was high. Pies and pastries made with puff and shortcrust pastry had the highest i-TFA content. About 15.7% of all samples had an i-TFA content that exceeded the 2% limit set in foods by the new Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/649. Meat products and French fries had i-TFA levels that did not exceed 1% of total fat. In view of the lack of data on TFA content of foods in Greece, these results highlight the necessity to improve their nutritional quality and provide guidance for planning future targeted inspections regarding the TFA content of foods.