Oil Quality and Fatty Acid Composition: The Importance of Healthy Fats

What are the Factors Affecting the Quality of Oil? What Does Fatty Acid Composition Mean?

What is Oil? What are its Physical and Chemical Properties?

Fat is an organic compound derived from plant or animal sources that is a source of energy for the body and plays an important role in cell structure. Fats are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms and, in addition to storing energy in the body, they participate in the structure of cell membranes and play a role in hormone production. Fats are one of the main food groups and are found in different forms such as saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.

The physical and chemical properties of fats are determined by the proportions and composition of the fatty acids they contain. Fatty acids are a straight hydrocarbon chain with a carboxyl group. The properties that distinguish fatty acids from each other are the number of carbons in the hydrocarbon chain, the presence or absence of double bonds between carbon atoms, the location and number of double bonds.

Fatty acids are generally divided into saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Fats that consist of a single double bond and are solid at room temperature are saturated fatty acids. Fatty acids containing more than one double bond are called unsaturated fatty acids.

Factors Affecting the Quality of Oil

Factors affecting the quality of oil are feeding, technology and processing values, distribution and position of fatty acids in the oil. The composition of fatty acids is not constant. Generally, morphological, physiological and genetic factors affect the composition of fatty acids.

The quality of the oil is an important parameter for consumer health and the factors affecting it:

Raw Material Source: The vegetable or animal source from which the oil is obtained plays a major role in the quality of the oil. For example, the quality of olive oil depends on the type of olive and growing conditions.
Storage Conditions: High temperature, light and oxygen exposure can accelerate the oxidation process of oils, causing them to deteriorate. Proper storage increases the shelf life and quality of the oil.
Refining Process: Refining oils removes impurities. However, over-refining can reduce the nutritive value and antioxidant content of the oil.
Oxidation: Oxidation, which occurs when oils come into contact with oxygen, reduces the quality of the oil and causes changes in taste and odor. Antioxidants can slow down oxidation.
Free Fatty Acids: A high free fatty acid content indicates that the oil has started to deteriorate and there is a loss of quality. The free fatty acid ratio gives information about the freshness and processing quality of the oil.

What Does Fatty Acid Composition Mean?

Fatty acid composition refers to the proportions of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids in an oil. This composition is important for the nutritional value, health effects and physical properties of the oil.

Saturated Fatty Acids: Usually of animal origin and solid at room temperature. Excessive consumption can increase the risk of heart disease.
Unsaturated Fatty Acids: They are of plant origin and are found in liquid form at room temperature. Monounsaturated fatty acids (e.g. olive oil) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.g. omega-3 fatty acids) are beneficial for heart health.
Trans Fatty Acids: These hydrogenated fats are harmful and can have adverse effects on heart health.

The fatty acid compositions of oils are given in the Turkish Food Codex Communiqué on Oils with Plant Names (Communiqué No: 2012/29) and the Turkish Food Codex Communiqué on Olive Oil and Olive Pomace Oil Analysis Methods (Communiqué No: 2014/53) issued by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock on the basis of fatty acid composition and percentage of total fatty acids.

Nanolab Laboratories Group continues to provide services within the scope of Determination of Fatty Acid Composition . We also provide services in Olive Oil Analysis.

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