Trans fatty acids: definition, structure, sources, health effects

Trans fatty acids or TFA or trans-unsaturated fatty acids or trans fats are unsaturated fatty acids , a subclass of lipids, with at least one a double bond in the trans configuration.
Carbon-carbon double bonds show planar conformation, and so they can be considered as planes from whose opposite sides carbon chain attaches and continues. “The entry” and “the exit” of the carbon chain from the plain may occur on the same side of the plain, and in this case double bond is in cis configuration, or on opposite side, and in that case it is in trans configuration. This is an example of geometric isomerism, also called cis-trans isomerism.

Unsaturated fatty acids most commonly have their double bonds in cis configuration; the other, less common configuration is trans.
Cis bond causes a bend in the fatty acid chain, whereas the geometry of trans bond straightens the fatty acid chain, imparting a structure more similar to that of saturated fatty acids.

Contents

• Properties of fats rich in trans fatty acids
• Types of trans fatty acids
  • Industrial trans fatty acids
    • Partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils
  • Ruminant trans fatty acids
• Isomers
• Effects on human health
  • Effects at plasmatic level
  • Inflammation and endothelial-cell dysfunction
    • Other effects
  • Coronary heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Ruminant trans fatty acids and the risk of CHD
• Trans fatty acids: legislation regulating their content
  • Food reformulation
• Food sources
  • Margarine
  • Vegetable shortenings
  • Vegetable oils
  • Prepared soups
  • Processed foods
  • Sauces
  • Human milk and infant foods
  • Fast foods and restaurant’s foods
• References

Properties of fats rich in trans fatty acids

Below, some distinctive characteristics of the fats rich in trans fats, that make them particularly suited for the production of margarines and vegetable shortening used in home and commercial cooking, and manufacturing processes.

• Bent molecules can’t pack together easily, but linear ones can do it.
  This means that trans fatty acids contribute, together with the geometrically similar saturated fatty acids, to the hardness of the fats in which they are, giving them a higher melting point.
  Heightening the melting point of fats means that it is possible to convert them from liquid form to semi-solids and solids at room temperature.
  Note: trans fats tend to be less solid than saturated fatty acids.
• They have a melting point, consistency and “mouth feel” similar to those of butter, a long shelf life at room temperature, and a flavor stability.
• They are stable during frying.

Types of trans fatty acids

Dietary TFA come from different sources briefly reviewed below.

• In industrialized countries, greater part of the consumed trans fatty acids, in USA about 80 percent of the total, are produced industrially, in varying amounts, during partial hydrogenation of edible oils containing unsaturated fatty acids.
• They are produced at home during frying with vegetable oils containing unsaturated fatty acids.
• They come from bacterial transformation of unsaturated fatty acids ingested by ruminants in their rumen.
• Another natural source is represented by some plant species, such as leeks, peas, lettuce and spinach, that contain trans-3-hexadecenoic acid, and rapeseed oil, that contains brassidic acid (22:1∆13t) and gondoic acid (20:1∆11t). In these sources trans fatty acids are present in small amounts.
• Very small amounts, less than 2 percent, are formed during deodorization of vegetable oils, a process necessary in the refining of edible oils. During this process trans fatty acids with more than one double bond are formed in small amounts. These isomers are also present in fried foods and in considerable amounts in some partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Industrial trans fatty acids

Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction in which hydrogen atoms react, in the presence of a catalyst, with a molecule.
The hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids involves the addition of hydrogen atoms to double bonds on the carbon chains of fatty acids. The reaction occurs in presence of metal catalyst and hydrogen, and is favored by heating vegetable oils containing unsaturated fatty acids.

Partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils

The process of hydrogenation was first discovered in 1897 by French Nobel prize in Chemistry, jointly with fellow Frenchman Victor Grignard, Paul Sabatier using a nickel catalyst.
Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils were developed in 1903 by a German chemist, Wilhelm Normann, who files British patent on “Process for converting unsaturated fatty acids or their glycerides into saturated compounds”. The term trans fatty acids or trans fats appeared for the first time in the Remark column of the 5th edition of the “Standard Tables of Food Composition” in Japan.
During partial hydrogenation, an incomplete saturation of the unsaturated sites on the carbon chains of unsaturated fatty acids occurs. For example, with regard to fish oil, trans fatty acid content in non-hydrogenated oils and in highly hydrogenated oils is 0.5 and 3.6 percent, respectively, whereas in partially hydrogenated oils is 30 percent.

But, most importantly, some of the remaining cis double bonds may be moved in their positions on the carbon chain, producing geometrical and positional isomers, that is, double bonds can be modified in both conformation and position.
Below, other changes that occur during partial hydrogenation are listed.

• Alpha-linolenic acid, the plant-based omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, is largely destroyed.
• Cyclic monomers, as well as intramolecular linear dimmers, are also formed.

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils were developed for the production of vegetable fats, a cheaper alternative to animal fats. In fact, through hydrogenation, oils such as soybean, safflower and cottonseed oils, which are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, are converted into semi-solid fats.
The first hydrogenated oil was cottonseed oil in USA in 1911 to produce vegetable shortening.
In the 1930’s, partial hydrogenation became popular with the development of margarine.
Currently, per year in USA, 6-8 billion tons of hydrogenated vegetable oil are produced.

Ruminant trans fatty acids

Ruminant trans fats are produced by bacteria in the rumen of the animals, for example cows, sheep and goats, using as a substrate a proportion of the relatively small amounts of unsaturated fatty acids present in their feedstuffs, that is, feed, plants and herbs. And, considering an animal that lives at least a year, and has the opportunity to graze and/or eat hay, there is a season variability in unsaturated fatty acids intake, and trans fats produced. In fact, in summer and spring, pasture plants and herbs may contain more unsaturated fatty acids than the winter feed supply.
Then, TFA are present at low levels in meat and full fat dairy products, typically <5 percent of total fatty acids, and are located in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triacylglycerols, whereas in margarines and other industrially hydrogenated products they appear to be concentrated in the sn-2 position of the triacylglycerols.
Ruminant trans fatty acids are mainly monounsaturated fatty acids, with 16 to 18 carbon atoms, and constitute a small percentage of the trans fatty acids in the diet.

Isomers

The most important cluster of trans fatty acids is trans-C18:1 isomers, that is, fatty acids containing 18 carbon atoms plus one double bond, whose position varies between Δ6 and Δ16 carbon atoms. In both sources, the most common isomers are those with double bonds between positions Δ9 and Δ11.
However, even if these molecules are present both in industrial and ruminant TFA, there is a considerable quantitative difference. For example, vaccenic acid (C18:1 Δ11t) represents over 60 percent of the trans-C18:1 isomers in ruminant trans fatty acids, whereas in industrial ones elaidic acid (C18:1Δ9t) comprises 15-20 percent and C18:1 Δ10t and vaccenic acid over 20 percent each others.

Effects on human health

Ruminant trans fatty acids, in amounts actually consumed in diets, are not harmful for human health.
Conversely, consumption of industrial trans fats has neither apparent benefit nor intrinsic value, above their caloric contribution, and, from human health standpoint they are only harmful, having adverse effects on:

• serum lipid levels;
• endothelial cells;
• systemic inflammation;
• other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Moreover, they are positively associated with the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), and sudden death from cardiac causes and diabetes.

Note: further in the text, we will refer to industrial trans fatty acids as trans fats or trans fatty acids.

Effects at plasmatic level

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) plasma levels are well-documented risk markers for the development of coronary heart disease or CHD.

• High LDL-C levels are associated with an increased incidence of ischemic heart disease.
• High HDL-C levels are associated with a reduced incidence of the risk.

For this reason, the ratio between total cholesterol level and HDL-C is often used as a combined risk marker for these two components in relation to the development of heart disease: the higher the ratio, the higher the risk.

TFA, as previously said, have adverse effects on serum lipids.
These effects have been evaluated in numerous controlled dietary trials by isocaloric replacement of saturated fatty acids or cis-unsaturated fatty acids with trans fats. It was demonstrated that such replacement:

• raises LDL-C levels;
• lowers HDL-C levels, in contrast to saturated fatty acids that increase HDL-C levels when used as replacement in similar study;
• increases the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL-C, approximately twice that for saturated fatty acids, and, on the basis of this effect alone, trans fatty acids has been estimated to cause about 6% of coronary events in the USA.

Furthermore, trans fats:

• produce a deleterious increase in small, dense LDL-C subfractions, that is associated with a marked increased in the risk of CHD, even in the presence of relatively normal LDL-C;
• increase the blood levels of triglycerides, and this is an independent risk factor for CHD;
• increase levels of Lp(a)lipoprotein, another important coronary risk factor.

But on 2004 prospective studies have shown that the relation between the intake of trans fatty acids and the incidence of CHD is greater than that predicted by changes in serum lipid levels alone. This suggests that trans fats influence other risk factors for CHD, such as inflammation and endothelial-cell dysfunction.

Inflammation and endothelial-cell dysfunction

The role of inflammation in atherosclerosis, and consequently in CHD, is burgeoned in the last decade.
Interleukin-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), and an increased activity of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) system are markers of inflammation.
In women greater intake of trans fatty acids is associated with increased activity of TNF system, and in those with a higher body mass index with increased levels of interleukin-6 and CRP. For example, the difference in CRP seen with an average intake of trans fats of 2.1 percent of the total daily energy intake, as compared with 0.9 percent, correspond to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease of 30 percent. Similar results have been reported in patients with established heart disease, in randomized, controlled trials, in in vitro studies, and in studies in which it has been analyzed membrane levels of trans fatty acids, a biomarker of their dietary intake.
So, trans fats promote inflammation, and their inflammatory effects may account at least in part for their effects on CHD that, as seen above, are greater than would be predicted by effects on serum lipoproteins alone.
Attention: the presence of inflammation is an independent risk factor not only for CHD but also for insulin resistance, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and heart failure.

Another site of action of TFA may be endothelial function.
Several studies have suggested the association between greater intake of trans fats and increased levels of circulating biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction, such as E-selectin, sICAM-1, and sVCAM-1.

Other effects

In vitro studies have demonstrate that trans fats affect lipid metabolism through several pathways.

• They alter secretion, lipid composition, and size of apolipoprotein B-100 (apo B-100).
• They increase cellular accumulation and secretion of free cholesterol and cholesterol esters by hepatocytes.
• They alter expression in adipocytes of genes for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma), lipoprotein lipase, and resistin, proteins having a central roles in the metabolism of fatty acids and glucose.

Coronary heart disease

Industrial trans fats are independent cardiovascular risk factor.
Since the early 1990s attention has been focused on the effect of trans fatty acids on plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations.
Furthermore, four major prospective studies covering about 140,000 subjects, monitored for 6-14 years, have all found positive epidemiological evidence relating their levels in the diet, assessed with the aid of a detailed questionnaire on the composition of the diet, to the risk of CHD. These four studies are:

• The Health Professionals Follow-up study;
• The Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study;
• The Nurses’ Health Study;
• The Zutphen Elderly Study.

These studies cover such different populations that the results very probably hold true for the populations as a whole.
A meta-analysis of these studies have shown that a 2 percent increase in energy intake from industrial TFA was associated with a 23 percent increase in the incidence of CHD. The relative risk of heart disease was 1.36 in “The Health Professionals Follow-up Study”, 1.14 in “The Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study”; 1.93 (1.43-2.61) in “The Nurses’ Health Study”, and 1.28 (1.01-1.61) in “The Zutphen Elderly Study”.
So, there is a substantially increased risk even at low levels of intake: 2 percent of total energy intake, for a 2,000 Kcal diet is 40 Kcal or about 4-5 g of fat corresponding to a teaspoonful of fat!
Moreover, in three of the studies, the association between the intake of industrial trans fats and the risk of CHD was stronger than a corresponding association between the intake of saturated fatty acids and the risk of heart disease. In “The Zutphen Elderly Study”, this association was not investigated.
Because of the adverse effects of industrial trans fatty acids, for the same authors are unethical conducting randomized long-term trials to test their effects on the incidence of CHD.
So, avoidance of industrial trans fats, or a consumption of less 0.5% of total daily energy intake is necessary to avoid their adverse effects, far stronger on average than those of food contaminants or pesticide residues.

Further evidence
A study conducted in an Australia population with a first heart attack and no preceding history of CHD or hyperlipidemia has showed a positive association between levels of trans fatty acids in adipose tissue and the risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction.
It was shown that adipose tissue C18:1Δ7t, found in both animal and vegetable fats, was an independent predictor of a first myocardial infarction, that is, its adipose tissue level is still a predictor for heart disease after adjustment for total cholesterol. Again, it appears that only a minor part of the negative effects of trans fats occurs via plasma lipoproteins.
During the course of this study, mid-1996, TFA were eliminated from margarines sold in Australia. This was a unique opportunity to investigate the temporal relationship between trans fat intake and their adipose tissue levels. It was demonstrated that trans fats disappear from adipose tissue of both case-patients and controls with a rate about 15 percent of total trans fats/y.
Another study conduct in Costa Rica have found a positive association between myocardial infarction and trans fatty acids.
Interestingly, in a larger, community-based case-control study, levels of trans fats in red blood cell membranes were associated, after adjustment for other risk factors, with an increase in the risk of sudden cardiac death. Moreover, the increased risk appeared to be related to trans-C18:2 levels, that were associated with a tripling of the risk, but not with cell membrane levels of trans-C18:1, the major trans fatty acids in foods (see above).

Diabetes

In a prospective study covering 84,204 female nurses, from “The Nurses’ Health Study”, aged 34–59 y, analyzed from the 1980 to 1996, with no cancer, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease at base line, the intake of trans fatty acids was significantly related to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And, after adjustment for other risk factors trans fat intake was positively associated with the incidence of diabetes with a risk up to 39 percent greater.
Data from controlled intervention studies showed that TFA could impair insulin sensitivity in subjects with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (saturated fatty acids do the analogous response, with no significant difference between TFA and them) more than unsaturated fatty acids, in particular the isomer of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) trans-10, cis-12-CLA. Be careful because some dietary supplements contain CLA isomers and may be diabetogenic and proatherogenic in insulin-resistant subjects.

No significant effect was seen in insulin sensitivity of lean, healthy subjects.

Ruminant trans fatty acids and the risk of CHD

Four prospective studies have evaluated the relation between the intake of ruminant trans fatty acids and the risk of CHD: no significant association was identified.
In another study published on 2008 was analyzed data from four Danish cohort studies that cover 3,686 adults enrolled between 1974 and 1993, and followed for a median of 18 years. In Denmark, consumption of dairy products is relatively high and the range of ruminant trans fat intake is relatively broad, up to 1.1 percent of energy. Conversely, in the other countries, ruminant trans fatty acid consumption for most people is substantially lower than 1 percent of energy, in USA about 0.5 percent of energy. After adjustment for other risk factors, no significant associations between ruminant TFA consumption and incidence of CHD were found, confirming, in a population with relatively high intake of ruminant trans fatty acids, conclusions of four previous prospective studies.
So ruminant trans fats, in amounts actually consumed in diets, do not raise CHD risk.
The absence of risk of CHD with trans fats from ruminants as compared with industrial trans fatty acids may be due to a lower intake. In the USA, greater part of trans fats have industrial origin (see above); moreover trans fat levels in milk and meats are relatively low, 1 to 8 percent of total fats.
The absence of a higher risk of CHD may be due also to the presence of different isomers. Ruminant and industrial sources share many common isomers, but there are some quantitative difference (see fig. 4):

• vaccenic acid level is higher in ruminant fats, 30-50 percent of trans isomers;
• trans-C18:2 isomers, present in deodorized and fried vegetable oils, as well as in some partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, are not present in appreciable amounts in ruminants fats.

Finally other, still unknown, potentially protective factors could outweigh harmful effects of ruminant trans fats.

Trans fatty acids: legislation regulating their content

USA
Until 1985 no adverse effects of trans fatty acids on human health was demonstrated, and in 1975 a Procter & Gamble study showed no effect of trans fats on cholesterol.
Their use in fast food preparation grew up from 1980’s, when the role of dietary saturated fats in increasing cardiac risk began clear. Then, it was led a successful campaign to get McDonald’s to switch from beef tallow to vegetable oil for frying its French fries. Meanwhile, studies began to raise concerns about their effects on health. On 1985 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that TFA and oleic acid affected serum cholesterol level similarly, but from the second half of 1985 their harmful began clear, and the final proof came from both controlled feeding trials and prospective epidemiologic studies.
On 2003 FDA ruled that food labels, for conventional foods and supplements, show their content beginning January 1, 2006. Notably, this ruling was the first substantive change to food labeling since the requirement for per-serving food labels information was added in 1990.
On 2005 The US Department of Agriculture made a minimized intake of trans fatty acids a key recommendation of the new food-pyramid guidelines.
The American Heart Association, on 2006, recommended to limit their intake to 1% of daily calorie consumption, and suggested food manufacturers and restaurants switch to other fats.
On 2006 New York City Board of Health announced trans fat ban in its 40,000 restaurants within July 1, 2008, followed by the state of California in 2010-2011.

Australia
After June 1996 they were eliminated from margarine sold in Australia, that before contributed about 50% of their dietary intake.

Europe
On March 11, 2003 the Danish government, after a debate started in 1994 and two new reports in 2001 and 2003, decided to phase out the use of industrial trans fats in food before the end of 2003. Two years later, however, the European Commission (EC) asked Denmark to withdraw this law, which was not accepted on the European Community level, unfortunately. However, in 2007, EC decided to closes its infringement procedure against Denmark because of increasing scientific evidence of the danger of this type of fatty acids.
The Danish example was followed by Austria and Switzerland in 2009, Iceland, Norway, and Hungary in 2011, and most recently, Estonia and Georgia in 2014. So, about 10 percent of the European Union population, about 500 million people, lives in countries where it is illegal to sell food high in industrial trans fats.
Governments of other European Union countries instead rely on the willingness of food producers to reduce trans fatty acid content in their products. This strategy has proved effective only for Western European countries.

Canada
Canada is considering legislation to eliminate them from food supplies, and, in 2005, ruled that pre-packaged food labels show their content.

Therefore, with the exception of the countries where the use of trans fats in the food industry was banned, the only way to reduce their intake in the other countries is consumer’s decision to choose foods free in such fatty acids, avoiding those known containing them, and always reading nutrition facts and ingredients because they may come from margarine, vegetable oil and frying. Indeed, for example in the USA, the producers of foods that contain less than 0.5 g of industrial trans fatty acids per serving can list their content as 0 on the packaging. This content is low but if a consumer eats multiple servings, he consumes substantial amount of them.

Be careful: food labels are not obligatory in restaurants, bakeries, and many other retail food outlets.

Food reformulation

Public health organizations, including the World Health Organization in September 2006, have recommended reducing the consumption of industrial trans fatty acids; only in USA the near elimination of these fatty acids might avoid between 72,000 and 280,000 of the 1.2 million of CHD events every year.
Food manufacturers and restaurants may reduce industrial TFA use choosing alternatives to partially hydrogenated oils.
In Denmark, their elimination from vegetable oils did not increase consumption of saturated fatty acids because they were mostly replaced with cis-unsaturated fatty acids. Moreover, there were no noticeable effects for the consumer: neither increase in the cost nor reduction in availability and quality of foods.
In 2009, Stender et al. have shown that industrial trans fatty acids in food such as French fries, cookies, cakes, and microwave-oven popcorn purchased in USA, South Africa, and many European Country can be replaced, at similar prices, with a mixture of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Such substitution has even greater nutritional benefit than one-to-one substitution of industrial trans fats with saturated fatty acids alone. However, be careful because only in French fries with low industrial trans fats the percentage of saturate fatty acids remains constant, whereas in cookies and cakes is in average +33 percentage points and microwave-oven popcorn +24 percentage points: saturated fatty acids are less dangerous than industrial trans fats but more than mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The same research group, analyzing some popular foods in Europe, purchased in supermarkets, even of the same supermarket chain, and fast food, namely, McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), from 2005 to 2014, showed that their TFA content was reduced or even absent in several Western European countries while remaining high in Eastern and Southeastern Europe.
In 2010 Mozaffarian et al. evaluated the levels of industrial trans fats and saturated fatty acids in major brand-name U.S. supermarket and restaurant foods after reformulation to reduce industrial trans fatty acid content, in two time: from 1993 through 2006 and from 2008 through 2009. They found a generally reduction in industrial trans fat content without any substantial or equivalent increase in saturated fatty acid content.

Foods sources

Many foods high in trans fats are popularly consumed worldwide.
In USA greater part of these fatty acids comes from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, with an average consumption from this source that has been constant since the 1960′s.
It should be noted that the following trans fatty acid values must be interpreted with caution because, as previously said, many fast food establishments, restaurants and industries may have changed, or had to change the type of fat used for frying and cooking since the analysis were done.
The reported values, unless otherwise specified, refer to percentage in trans fatty acids/ 100 g of fatty acids.

Margarine

Among foods with trans fats, stick or hard margarine had the highest percentage of them, but levels of these fatty acids have declined as improved technology allowed the production of softer margarines which have become popular. But there are difference in trans fatty acid content of margarine from different countries. Below some examples.

• The highest content, 13-16.5 percent, is found in soft margarine from Iceland, Norway, and the UK.
• Less content is found in Italy, Germany, Finland, and Greece, 5.1 percent, 4.8 percent, 3.2 percent, and 2.9 percent respectively).
• In Portugal, The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, and Sweden margarine trans fat content is less than 2 percent.

USA and Canada lag behind Europe, but in the USA, with the advent of trans fat labeling of foods and the greater knowledge of the risk associated with their consumption by the buyers, change is occurring. For this reason, at now, in the USA margarine is considered to be a minor contributor to the intake of TFA, whereas the major sources are commercially baked and fast food products like cake, cookies, wafer, snack crackers, chicken nuggets, French fries or microwave-oven popcorn (see below).

Vegetable shortenings

Trans fatty acid content of vegetable shortenings ranges from 6% to 50 percent, and varies in different country: in Germany, Austria and New Zealand it is less than France or USA.
However, like margarines, their trans fat content is decreasing. In Germany it decreased from 12% in 1994 to 6 percent in 1999, in Denmark is 7 percent (1996) while in New Zealand is about 6 percent (1997).

Vegetable oils

At now, non-hydrogenated vegetable oils for salad and cooking contain no or only small amounts of trans fats.
Processing of these oils can produce minimal level of them, ranged from 0.05g/100 food for extra virgin olive oil to 2.42 g/100 g food for canola oil. So, their contribution to trans fat content of the current food supply is very little.
One exception is represented by Pakistani hydrogenated vegetable oils whose TFA content ranges from 14% to 34%.

Prepared soups

Among foods with trans fats, prepared soups contain significant amount of them, ranging from 10 percent of beef bouillon to 35 percent of onion cream. So, they contribute great amount of such fatty acids to the diet if frequently consumed.

Processed foods

Thanks to their properties, trans fatty acids are used in many processed foods as cookies, cakes, croissants, pastries and other baked goods. And, baked goods are the greatest source of these fats in the North American diet. Of course, their trans fat content depends on the type of fat used in processing.

Sauces

Mayonnaise, salad dressings and other sauces contain only small or no-amounts of trans fats.

Human milk and infant foods

Trans fat content of human milk reflects the trans fat content of maternal diet in the previous day, is comprised between 1 and 7%, and is decreasing from 7.1 percent in 1998 to 4.6 percent in 2005/2006.
Infant formulas have trans fat values on average 0.1-4.5 percent, with a brand up to 15.7 percent.
Baby foods contain greater than 5 percent of trans fats.

Fast foods and restaurant’s foods

Vegetable shortenings high in trans fats are used as frying fats, so fast foods and many restaurant’s foods may contain relatively large amounts of them. Foods are fried pies, French fries, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, fried fish as well as fried chicken.
In articles published by Stender et al. from 2006 to 2009, it is showed that for French fries and chicken nuggets their content varies largely from nation to nation, but also within the same fast food chain in the same country, and even in the same city, because of the cooking oil used. For example, oil used in USA and Peru outlets of a famous fast food chain contained 23-24% of trans fats, whereas oil used in many European countries of the same fast food chain contained about 10 percent, with some countries, such as Denmark, as low as 5 percent and 1 percent.
And, considering a meal of French fries and chicken nuggets, in serving size of 171 and 160 g respectively, purchased at McDonald‘s in New York City, it contained over 10 g of TFA, while if purchased at KFC in Hungary they were almost 25 g.
Below, again from the work of Stender et al. it can see a cross-country comparison of trans fat contents of chicken nuggets and French fries purchased at McDonald ‘s or KFC.

Chicken nuggets and French fries from McDonald’s:

• less than 1 g only if the meals were purchased in Denmark;
• 1-5 g in Portugal, the Netherlands, Russia, Czech Republic, or Spain;
• 5-10 g in the United States, Peru, UK, South Africa, Poland, Finland, France, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Germany, or Hungary.

Chicken and French fries from KFC:

• less than 2 g if the meals were purchased UK (Aberdeen), Denmark, Russia, or Germany (Wiesbaden);
• 2-5 in Germany (Hamburg), France, UK (London or Glasgow), Spain, or Portugal;
• 5-10 in the Bahamas, South Africa, or USA;
• 10-25 g in Hungary, Poland, Peru, or Czech Republic.

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