title: The trans fatty acid content of fats in some manufactured foods commonly available in New Zealand.
abstract: The trans-unsaturated fatty acid content of 18 foodstuffs was determined using infrared analysis for total trans-unsaturation and thin layer/gas chromatography for the trans octadecenoic acids. Infrared calibration was from mixtures of trielaidin and tristearin or methyl oleate and methyl stearate for analysis of triacylglycerols and derived fatty acid methyl esters respectively. The methyl esters were also separated by degree of unsaturation by argentation thin layer chromatography and the trans- monounsaturated components determined by gas chromatography. As a proportion of the extracted fat, trans contents ranged from margarine (14-18%) to biscuits (1-2%). All except the margarines were less than 10%. When the fat content and serving size of the foods were taken into account, the ranking of contribution to dietary trans fatty acids was somewhat different from that based on the trans content of the fats alone, pastry-based foods and margarine appearing as the major potential contributors.
authors.affiliation: New Zealand Dairy Research Institute, Palmerston North.
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: B Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Rowan