Assessment of trans-fatty acid content in a sample of foods from the Slovenian food supply using a sales-weighting approach

Objective: Consumption of trans-fatty acids (TFA) is a well-established risk factor for CVD morbidity and mortality. Our objective was to investigate TFA levels in Slovenian food supply. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Selected foods (n 282) were purchased in Slovenia (2016), and the TFA content was determined. The sample included pre-packed foods with/without declared partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHO), as well as non-pre-packed foods. A sales-weighting approach was used to ponder different market shares of the products. Results: While the majority of the investigated samples had low levels of TFA, up to 6 center dot 8 g of TFA per 100 g of food was observed in certain foods. Within pre-packed foods (n 207), the highest proportion of samples with high TFA levels was found among cookies with labelled PHO: 69 % (n 18) would exceed European Union regulatory TFA limit (2 g industrial TFA per 100 g of fats), which will be implemented in April 2021. Among the investigated non-pre-packed foods (n 75), only croissants contained notable TFA levels (mean 0 center dot 90 (sd 0 center dot 97); maximum 3 center dot 3 g/100 g), with about half of the samples exceeding 2 g TFA per 100 g of fats. Conclusions: In 2016, some foods in Slovenian food supply still contained notable amounts of TFA. Foods with listed PHO as an ingredient were usually higher in TFA as compared with foods not labelled to contain PHO. Biscuits were identified as the most concerning category of pre-packed foods, while croissants contained highest levels of TFA within non-pre-packed foods.

Automated summary

This study investigated the levels of trans-fatty acids (TFA) in Slovenian food supply and found that some foods still contained notable amounts of TFA in 2016, especially those labeled with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHO) and certain non-pre-packed foods like biscuits and croissants. Foods with listed PHO as an ingredient were usually higher in TFA compared to those without, and biscuits were identified as the most concerning category of pre-packed foods, while croissants contained the highest levels of TFA within non-pre-packed foods.