FATTY-ACID PATTERN AND SPREADABILITY OF B UTTER

A number of butter brands oi the usual type and of those claiming enha nced spreadability was analyzed. Normal butter contained 71.1% saturat ed (SFA), 26.4 % mono-unsaturated (MUFA), and 2.5 % polyunsaturated fa tty acids (PUFA). 34.9 % palmitic acid (C16:0), 23.6 % oleic acid (C18 :1), and 10.3% stearic acid (C18:0) have been found. In the butter bra nds claiming enhanced spreadability, fatty acid proportions were signi ficantly shifted from the SFA (62.7 %) to the MUFA (34.5 %), with PUFA proportions being the same. C18:1 prevailed (32.4 %), followed by C16 :0 (24.8 %). The product with the smaller palmitic acid-oleic acid rat io spreads more readily.