Determination of trans fat in edible oils: current official methods and overview of recent developments

The adverse effects of dietary trans fat on biomarkers of chronic disease are well documented. Regulatory authorities in many countries have enacted legislation aimed at reducing trans fat content of their food supplies, either by requiring trans fat labeling on pre-packaged foods or by limiting the amount of trans fat in oils used for food production. Increased use by the food industry of oils with a low trans fat content necessitates reevaluation of official methods used by the food industry and regulatory agencies for the determination of total trans fat. Attenuated total reflection-Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) are two techniques used in official methods approved by method-endorsing organizations, for example AOAC International and the American Oil Chemists' Society. Here, we review current official ATR-FTIR and GC-FID methods for determination of trans fat, with a focus on factors affecting quantification of low levels of trans fat. We include new data on method performance that have only recently become available, and provide an overview of notable recent developments in lipid analysis (e.g. IR spectroscopy procedures, ionic-liquid GC columns, and multidimensional chromatographic techniques) that have the potential to substantially improve the accuracy, sensitivity, and/or speed of trans fat determination.