Trans-Fats Profile of Selected Locally Produced Food Products in Makurdi Metropolis

ABSTRACT In spite of the association of unacceptable levels of trans fats in food products with cardiovascular diseases, there is scanty literature on their contents in food products commonly consumed. Presently there is no system to monitor and regulate the amount of trans fats in common food products for informed decision taking by consumers. In this work, the trans fat composition of seven locally made hydrogenated food products consumed daily were profiled by Soxhlet extraction procedure followed by the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method to determine their trans fat concentrations. The trans fat concentrations in the food products ranged from 0.72 to 42.34 % or 0.14 to 8.47 mg/kg corresponding to 9-octadecenoic and 13-octadecenoic acids or methyl esters. The trans fats values in the food products were high except, in the meat pie (MP) and were above the recommended values set by regulatory agencies. The high trans fats values in the food products suggest a need for a reduction in their daily consumption by consumers for healthy dieting and to avoid predisposition to disease conditions that these substances are capable of causing. In light of the findings, the need to state these trans fats values on nutritional facts labels of such food products by producers is recommended