Evaluation of saturated and trans fatty acids in fast foods in Tehran

Today, saturated and trans fatty acids are one of the most important potential health limitations of consuming prepared foods. Fast foods are widely consumed by adults and children due to their quick preparation and the popularity of the taste. As a result, it is very important to control the amount of saturated and trans fatty acids in fast foods. The city of Tehran was divided into five regions: north, south, west, east and center, and from each region, three types of fast food, including mixed pizza, falafel and Chicken nuggets, and three samples from each fast food (a total of 45 samples from 45 different grocery stores were randomly selected). In this study, the concentration of trans fatty acids was calculated as a percentage by Agilent7890A gas chromatography. The average of saturated fatty acids in falafel fast food, mixed pizza and chicken nuggets were 18.02, 36.35 and 19.11 g / 100g, respectively. The average trans acids of chicken nugget fast food, mixed pizza and falafel were 0.36, 0.71 and 0.06 g / 100g, respectively. The difference between different regions of Tehran was not significant in terms of saturated and trans fatty acid content (P> 0.05). Consumption of trans fatty acids through fast food in Tehran is appropriate in comparison with international standards. The lower risk factors than the global standards in this study is due to the low per capita consumption of fast food in Iran (IR = 4 g / day).