Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Trans, saturated, and unsaturated fat in foods in the united states prior to mandatory trans-fat labeling

  • Articles
  • Published:
Lipids

Abstract

On July 11, 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published a final rule amending its food-labeling regulations to require that trans FA be declared in the nutrition label of conventional foods and dietary supplements. The effective date of this final rule is January 1, 2006. This places some urgency on increasing the number and types of currently available foods for which there are trans-fat data. Compositional databases on trans fat content of food are currently limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the trans-fat content of a wide range of foods prior to the effective date of the new regulation. AOAC Official Method of Analysis 996.01 was modified for the analysis of trans fat in noncereal products. Food products for analysis were selected on the basis of market share and data from the USDA's 1994–1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals. Foods were purchased from local supermarkets, weighed, hydrolyzed, converted to FAME, and analyzed by GC. The results showed that trans fat (g/100 g fat) ranged from 0.0 to 48.8 in bread, cake, and related products; from 14.9 to 27.7 in margarines; from 7.7 to 35.3 in cookies and crackers; from 24.7 to 38.2 in frozen potatoes; from 0.0 to 17.1 in salty snacks; from 0.0 to 13.2 in vegetable oils and shortenings; from 0.0 to 2.2 in salad dressings and mayonnaises; and from 0.0 to 2.0 in dry breakfast cereals. Serving sizes for the foods included in this survey ranged from 12 to 161 g, and trans-fat levels ranged from 0.0 to 7.2 g/serving. The significant differences in trans-fat content in products within each food category are due to differences in the type of fats and oils used in the manufacturing processes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

CFR:

Code of Federal Regulations

FDA:

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

IOM/NAS:

Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences

IRI:

Information Resources, Inc.

MUFA:

the sum of all cis-monounsaturated FA

PUFA:

the sum of all cis,cis methylene-interrupted PUFA

SF:

saturated fat, all FA containing no double bonds

SRM:

Standard Reference Material

total fat:

total lipid FA expressed as TG. Trans fat is defined in FDA's final rule (Ref. 5) as follows: All unsaturated FA that contain one or more isolated (i.e., nonconjugated) double bonds in a trans configuration

References

  1. Craig-Schmidt, M.C. (1992) Fatty Acid Isomers in Foods, in Fatty Acids in Foods and Their Health Implications (Chow, C.K., ed.), pp. 365–398, Marcel Dekker, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults, Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III), Chapter II, “Rationale for Intervention,” and Chapter V, “Adopting Healthful Lifestyle Habits to Lower LDL Cholesterol and Reduce CHD Risk,” http://www. NHLBI.nih.gov (accessed August 2003).

  3. Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences (IOM/NAS) (2002) Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein and Amino Acids (Macronutrients), Chapters 8 and 11, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, http://www.nap.edu (accessed August 2003).

  4. Department of Health and Human Services, FDA (1999), Food Labeling: Trans Fatty Acids in Nutrition Labeling; Nutrient Content Claims, and Health Claims; Proposed Rule, Federal Register 64, No. 221, November 17, 1999, pp. 62746–62825.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Department of Health and Human Services, FDA (2003) Food Labeling; Trans Fatty Acids in Nutrition Labeling; Nutrient Content Claims, and Health Claims; Final Rule, Federal Register 68, No. 133, July 11, 2003, pp. 41434–41506.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Fat and Fatty Acid Content of Selected Foods Containing trans Fatty Acids, USDA Nutrient Database, www.nal.usda. gov/fnic/foodcomp (accessed August, 2003).

  7. AOAC International, Official Method 996.01 (2002) Fat (total, saturated, unsaturated and monounsaturated) in Cereal Products, Official Methods of Analysis of the AOAC, 17th edn., revised, AOAC International, Gaithersburg, MD (revisions, 2002).

    Google Scholar 

  8. USDA, ARS (1998) Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals (CSFII) and 1994–1996 Diet and Health Survey and Technical Support Databases, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA.

    Google Scholar 

  9. American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS) (1999) Official Method Ce 1f-96 (revised 2002). Determination of cis- and trans-Fatty Acids in Hydrogenated and Refined Oils and Fats by Capillary GLC, Official Methods and Recommended Practices of the AOCS, 5th edn. (Firestone, D., ed.), Champaign.

  10. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) (2003); Part 21, § 101.9. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.

  11. DeVries, J.W., Kjos, L., Groff, L., Martin, B., Cernohous, K., Patel, H., Payne, H., Leichtweis, H., Shay, M., and Newcomer, L. (1999) Studies in Improvement of Official Method 996.06, J. AOAC Int. 82, 1146–1155.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Satchithanandam, S., Fritsche, J., and Rader, J.I. (2000) Extension of AOAC Official Method 996.01 to the Analysis of Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1846 and Infant Formulas, J. AOAC Int. 84, 805–813.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Satchithanandam, S., Fritsche, J., and Rader, J.I. (2002) Gas Chromatographic Analysis of Infant Formulas for Total Fatty Acids, Including trans FA, J. AOAC Int. 85, 86–89.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Mossoba, M.M., Kramer, J.K.G., Delmonte, P., Yurawecz, M.P., and Rader, J.I. (2003) Official Methods for the Determination of trans Fat, AOCS Press, Champaign, 22 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Information Resources, Inc. (1999) Infoscan 1999 Annual Data, Information Resources, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Research and Applied Technology, Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling and Dietary Supplements, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 5100 Paint Branch Pkwy, HFS-840, 20740, College Park, Maryland

    Subramaniam Satchithanandam, Carolyn J. Oles, Carol J. Spease, Mary M. Brandt, Martin P. Yurawecz & Jeanne I. Rader

Authors
  1. Subramaniam Satchithanandam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carolyn J. Oles
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carol J. Spease
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mary M. Brandt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Martin P. Yurawecz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jeanne I. Rader
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Subramaniam Satchithanandam.

About this article

Cite this article

Satchithanandam, S., Oles, C.J., Spease, C.J. et al. Trans, saturated, and unsaturated fat in foods in the united states prior to mandatory trans-fat labeling. Lipids 39, 11–18 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-004-1195-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-004-1195-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation