Fatty acid composition of frequently consumed foods in Turkey with special emphasis on trans fatty acids.

Fatty acid compositions of frequently consumed foods in Turkey were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography with particular emphasis on trans fatty acids. The survey was carried out on 134 samples that were categorized as meat products, chocolates, bakery products and others. The meat products except chicken-based foods have trans fatty acids, arising as a result of ruminant activity, with an average content of 1.45 g/100 g fatty acids. The conjugated linoleic acid content of meat and chicken doner kebabs were found higher than other meat products. Chocolate samples contained trans fatty acids less than 0.17 g/100 g fatty acids, with the exceptional national product of chocolate bars and hazelnut cocoa cream (2.03 and 3.68 g/100 g fatty acids, respectively). Bakery products have the highest trans fatty acid contents and ranged from 0.99 to 17.77 g/100 g fatty acids. The average trans fatty acid contents of infant formula and ice-cream, which are milk-based products, were 0.79 and 1.50 g/100 g fatty acids, respectively. Among the analyzed foods, it was found that coffee whitener and powdered whipped topping had the highest saturated fatty acid contents, with an average content of 98.71 g/100 g fatty acids.