Abstract
The lipid fraction of margarines and fast food French fries, two types of foods traditionally high in trans fatty acids (TFA), is assessed. TFA data reported worldwide during the last 20 years have been gathered and show that some countries still report high TFA amounts in these products. The content of TFA was analysed in margarines (two store and four premium brands) and French-fries from fast-food restaurants (five chains). All samples were collected in Pamplona (Navarra, Spain). The margarines showed mean values of 0.68% and 0.43% (g TFA/100 g fat) for the store and premium brands, respectively. The French fries’ values ranged from 0.49% to 0.89%. All samples were lower than the 2% set by some European countries as the maximum legal content of TFA in fats, and contained less than 0.5 g/serving, so they could also be considered “trans free products”. This work confirmed that the presence of TFA is not significant in the two analysed products and contributes updated food composition tables, key tools for epidemiological and nutrition studies.
Highlights
From 1990 to 2010 globally, the estimated proportional CHD mortality increased by 4% for higher trans fatty acids (TFA) consumption, driven basically by increases in low and middle-income countries [1]
A display of the TFA content of foods in the Nutrition Facts table is not mandatory according to current legislation in Europe, and consumers and health-related professionals are not provided with information on the levels of TFA in products
For both types of products, the lipid profile was expressed in g/100 g fat and in g/100 g product in order to discuss the differences found with previous studies and to estimate the intake of TFA in diets
Summary
From 1990 to 2010 globally, the estimated proportional CHD (coronary heart disease) mortality increased by 4% for higher TFA (trans fatty acids) consumption, driven basically by increases in low and middle-income countries [1]. It has been stated that removing these fats from the food supply is considered an optimum public health intervention for reducing CVD risk and improving the nutritional quality of diets [5] These policies have resulted, for instance, in lower concentrations of trans fat in Canadian women’s breast milk samples [6] and in lower plasma TFA concentrations in persons with type-2 diabetes [7] and might have contributed to low TFA values in erythrocytes in Europe [8]. In 2003, Denmark was the first country that introduced a legislation regarding the use of TFA in industrial processed food, limiting the permitted level of TFA to 2 g of TFA per 100 g of fats or oil in the product as sold to the final consumer [9] This initiative led to a decrease in their CVD mortality rates [10]. In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report in which the recommended intake for TFA was set at less than 1% of total energy intake (E) [11]
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