Fatty Acid Composition of Margarines and Cooking Fats Available on the Czech Market

In a series of 20 margarines, nine cooking fats, and butter, the fatty acid composition was determined after the American Oil Chemistry Society (AOCS) standard method using capillary gas chromatography. Margarines contained 15.2–54.1% and cooking fats 16.5–59.1% saturated fatty acids, respectively, which was less than in butter. The content of linoleic fatty acid varied between 3.7 and 52.4% in margarines, and small amounts of linolenic acid were present in most samples. Oleic acid prevailed in cooking fats. Monoenoic trans -fatty acids were present only in traces in 10 samples, trans -polyenoic acids were present only in small amounts. Most cooking fats had high contents oftrans -unsaturated fatty acids. The number of free- trans margarines has rapidly increased in a few years.