Assessment of Trans Fatty Acid Levels in Refined Palm-Based Oils and Commercial Vegetable Oils in the Malaysian Market

Abstract

Trans fats consumption is a major concern worldwide due to the deleterious effects associated with increased risks of coronary heart disease. The trans fatty acid (TFA) content of 104 refinery and commercial vegetable oils in the Malaysian market were analysed by gas chromatography. TFA levels in 29 samples of refined, bleached and deodourised palm oil, palm olein, palm stearin and palm kernel olein from palm oil refineries ranged from 0.12 ± 0.00 to 0.84 ± 0.01 g/100 g. Commercially packaged vegetable oils namely palm olein, sunflower, corn, coconut, rice bran, peanut, olive and sesame oils contained less than 1 g TFA/100 g while higher TFA levels ranging from 1 to 3 g/100 g were detected in canola oil, soyabean oil and canola-based oil blend samples. Amongst the premium oils, cold pressed unrefined almond and walnut oils were found to contain TFA levels exceeding 2 g/100 g while other oils in this category contained TFA less than 1 g/100 g.All retail palm-based vegetable oils and palm-based vegetable fat shortenings except for three samples conformed to the conditions for nutrition claims of low TFA of 1.5 g/100 g and 0.75 g/100 ml in both solids and liquids, respectively, as regulated in the Malaysian Food Act 1983.

Fatty Acid Composition of Selected Street Foods Commonly Available in Malaysia

“…This is most likely due to the difference in preparation methods, as cakoi is deep-fried, whereas steaming and roasting methods are mainly used to prepare the rice and chicken in the chicken rice. Cakoi , in the present study, is deep-fried in palm oil, which explains the high SFAs content, considering that palm oil has approximately 50% SFAs [ 56 , 57 , 58 ]. On the other hand, the SFAs content of the chicken in chicken rice may have been reduced after undergoing the roasting process.…”

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Contamination and Quality of Locally Produced Crude Palm Oil in South-South Zone, Nigeria

“…The mean SV (207.32 mg KOH g -1 ) of CPO samples from CRS was significantly (p˂0.05) higher than that of CPOs from all the other producing states in the following trend: DES > BYS > AKS > EDS > RVS (Table 2). The low saponification values recorded in comparison with the NAFDAC [51] and SON [52] and Codex Alimentarius [53] might be due to high level of impurities as indicated [57]. The combined mean SV of samples CPO (177.28 mg KOH g -1 ) was found to be lower than a previous study [31].…”

“…It is, therefore, one of the most important oil quality parameters and a good indicator of impairment of oil quality or the level of deterioration caused by hydrolytic rancidity or enzymes and edibility of the oil [50]. The fatty acids obtained ranged from 1.10 -3.54 (wt% palmitic acid), were below the 5% standard requirement [51,52,53], and therefore, are edible. These values are indicative of the freshness of the palm oil samples.…”

“…High saponification value indicates high proportion of low fatty acids since SV is inversely proportional to the average molecular weight or chain length of triglycerides [56]. The result (Table 2) shows that the mean SVs of oil from the producing states (expect CRS) are below the minimum of 195 mg KOH g -1 oil of NAFDAC [51] and SON [52] and 190 mg KOH g -1 oil of Codex Alimentarius [53] thus did not meet the standard. The mean SV (207.32 mg KOH g -1 ) of CPO samples from CRS was significantly (p˂0.05) higher than that of CPOs from all the other producing states in the following trend: DES > BYS > AKS > EDS > RVS (Table 2).…”

OIL PALM ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN MALAYSIA AND R&D PROGRESS IN 2021

“…Nevertheless, there is also very limited data on the levels of trans fatty acids in cooking oils in Malaysia. Hishamuddin et al (2022) studied the distribution levels of trans fatty acids in refined palm-based oils and other commercial vegetable oils in Malaysia. The findings showed that the palm-based cooking oils in Malaysia were superior to other oils, in that the levels of trans fatty acids were low, thereby meeting the regulatory levels of trans fatty acids of 1 g/100 mL.…”