CHARACTERIZATION OF QUALITY OF FAT IN PROCESSED FOODS BY FATTY-ACID ANALYSIS AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE SIZE-EXCLUSION CHROMATOGRAPHY

The quality of fat in ten different types of processed foods, includin g snack foods, deep fat fried products, bakery products and fish and m eat products was studied. Crude fat was analysed gravimetrically and t he fatty acid composition by capillary gas chromatography. Triacylglyc erol equivalents, representing the total amount of triacylglycerol sha ped fat in the samples, were calculated from the results of fatty acid analysis. The polar lipids were analysed using solid phase extraction (SPE) combined with high-performance size-exclusion chromatography (H PSEC). Polar lipid material-, polymer- and polar triacylglycerol (PTAG )-contents were calculated. The polar lipid content varied between 2.0 % and 19.8% of total fat. Polymer and PTAG contents were 0-6.7% and 0. 4-4.1% of the total fat, respectively. HPSEC proved to be a promising method for studing the alteration of food fats in processed foods. It is possible to obtain specific information about the altered lipid mat erial and quality of food fats with this method.