Variation of trans fatty acids in milk fats.

Trans fatty acids are discussed in connection with an increased risk of atherosclerosis. Therefore, the development of a rapid and exact measuring method for the determination of trans fatty acids in milk fat is of great interest. Using gas chromatographic analysis of the trans-octadecenoic fatty acids as well as of the triglycerides of 100 different milk fat samples a formula consisting of different triglycerides for the quick determination of trans contents was developed by means of statistical methods (standard deviation = 0.293%, r = 0.9977). Subsequently, the seasonal variations of the trans contents in milk fat samples from a large milk collection area were determined using rapid triglyceride analyses. For the trans fatty acid contents of the 100 milk fat samples and the samples from the milk collection area scattering ranges of 1.91-6.34 wt% resp. 1.97-4.37 wt% were found; the mean contents were 3.83 and 3.18 wt%, and the median values 3.67 and 3.30 wt%, respectively.