TransFatty Acids in Bakery Products from 14 European Countries: the TRANSFAIR Study

The fatty acid composition of bakery products from 14 European countries was analyzed with particular emphasis ontransfatty acids. The proportion oftransfatty acids in cookies and biscuits ranged from <1 to 28%.Transfatty acids content in sweet pastry ranged from practically 0 to 33%. Croissants and doughnuts had varying amounts oftransfatty acids, with the highest value of 15% in croissants and 32% in doughnuts. The totaltransfatty acid content in pizzas was mostly in the same order and varied from <1% to 5%. Most hydrogenated marine oil-based bakery products were found in Iceland and in Norway. In Finland, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, and United Kingdom no bakery products based on hydrogenated marine oils could be identified. Bakery products based on hydrogenated vegetable fats were present in almost every country. It can be concluded that in bakery products it is difficult to identify the presence oftransfatty acids.