In order to characterise mustard (whole seed or flour), mustard sauces with
grain and mustard sauces in relation to their base seed, the concentration
s of fatty acid were determinated by gas chromatography (GC). Erucic acid w
as the most abundant fatty acid component in mustard and mustard sauces (27
,7 % and 24,6 % of total fatty acid content), followed by oleic acid (20,0
% and 21,1 %) and linolenic acid (16,3 % and 16.2 %). The major acid in mus
tard sauces with grain was linolenic (21,4 %), followed by linoleic acid (2
0,3 %) and oleic acid (19,3 %). By means of correlation and discriminant an
alysis the samples have been grouped and classified. It is shown that fatty
acid are usefull parameters for quality control analysis of mustard sauces
.