Fat contents of cereal foods: Comparison of classical with recently developed extraction techniques

Eight cereal products ranging from a fat-free ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal (fr osted flakes) to a full-fat high-ratio cake mix were subjected to analyte s eparation by anhydrous diethyl ether extraction (EE), acid hydrolysis/mixed ether extraction (AH), solid-phase extraction (SPE), and supercritical flu id extraction (SFE) with CO2 and with CO2 modified with 15% ethanol (SFEmod ), Gravimetric analyses of extracts indicated higher (P less than or equal to 0.05) crude fat values by AH than by EE, SFE, or SFEmod, Extractions fol lowed by fatty acid methyl ester analysis also produced higher (P less than or equal to 0.05) triglyceride means by AH than by other methods used for heat-treated RTE cereals and for ready-to-cook (RTC) cream of wheat. Theref ore, for labeling purposes, AH seems most appropriate because in most cases it achieves higher triglyceride values than extraction with solvent(s) alo ne. SFE and SPE, on the other hand, yield fat values similar to those obtai ned by EE and offer the advantages of reduced solvent volume, short extract ion times, and ease of laboratory automation.