2002 Volume 51 Issue 8 Pages 555-561
Determination was made of trans fatty acid content in margarines marketed in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Japan, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United States by gas-liquid and silver-ion thin-layer chromatography carried out in conjunction. As wt% of total fatty acid, it was found that, in print margarines, trans fatty acid was less than 3% in most products of Austria, Finland, Hungary and Sweden. For products of Belgium, trans fatty acid was relatively low, at 4% on the average. In Czech Republic and Denmark, trans fatty acid was divided into two groups of less than 2% and 20% or more. In Japan, Norway, Poland and the United States, trans fatty acid was found to exceed 20%. In tub margarines, trans fatty acid was generally below 3% for Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary and Sweden. Japan, Norway, Poland and the United States indicated mean trans fatty acid to be relatively high, at 13-16%, though several brands of low trans fatty acid margarines (below 3%) appear on the market in these countries. In most cases, margarines low in trans fatty acid were rich in saturated fatty acid and the total value of trans and saturated fatty acids (TFA+SFA) was essentially the same in high and low trans fatty acid margarines. Margarines with total cis-polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) to TFA+SFA ratio [PUFA/(TFA+SFA)], above 1, are available as print margarines in Denmark and tub margarines in all the other countries except for Sweden. TFA+SFA content (g/100g) in print margarines in the United States was quite low and tub margarines in Japan were noted to contain considerable TFA+SFA.
