Overview

This International Standard gives an overview of the gas chromatographic determination of fatty acids, free and bound, in animal and vegetable fats and oils following their conversion to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). The qualitative and quantitative determination of the composition of fatty acids by gas liquid chromatography (GLC) is a widely used application in lipid analysis. It is used for the characterization of fats and oils, or fatty foodstuffs after the extraction of the oil from the matrix. The bound fatty acids of the triacylglycerols (TAGs) and, depending on the esterification method, the free fatty acids (FFA) and other lipids, are converted to fatty acid methyl ester (FAMEs), which are determined by capillary gas chromatography. Depending on the number of different fatty acids (theoretically more than 50 different fatty acids can be present) capillary columns with a length of 10 m to 100 m are used for a separation. The GLC of FAMEs is applicable to all natural and synthetic mixtures of tri-, di-, and monoacylglycerols, to fatty acid esters, free fatty acids, soaps and other fatty compounds. With this suite of standards, FAMEs from C4 to C26 can be determined, including saturated fatty acid methyl Estes, cis- and trans-monounsaturated fatty acid methyl esters, and cis- and trans-polyunsaturated fatty acid methyl esters. For the determination of short chain fatty acids, isopropyl and butyl esters are often used so as to avoid interferences with the solvent peak and in order to reduce differences in detector responses. This International Standard is Part 1 of a suite of four International Standards for the preparation and determination of fatty acid methyl esters by gas chromatography in animal and vegetable fats and oils. ISO 12966 (all parts) is applicable to crude, refined, partially hydrogenated or fully hydrogenated fats, oils and fatty acids derived from animal and vegetable sources. ISO 12966 (all parts) is not suitable for the analysis of dairy, ruminant fats and oils (including milk and milk products or fat coming from milk and milk products), or products supplemented with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Furthermore it is not intended to be applied to polymerized and oxidized fats and oils. This part of ISO 12966 is a guideline to the modern gas chromatography of fatty acid methyl esters, while ISO 12966-2 and ISO 12966-3 cover the preparation of fatty acid methyl esters by different methods. In ISO 12966-4, the conditions for the analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) by capillary gas chromatography are given. The document contains the unchanged International Standard ISO 12966-1:2014, prepared by ISO/TC 34 "Food products" (Secretariat: AFNOR, France), Subcommittee SC 11 "Animal and vegetable fats and oils" (Secretariat: BSI, United Kingdom). This document also includes the European Corrigendum EN ISO 12966-1:2014/AC:2015. CEN/TC 307 "Oilseeds, vegetable and animal fats and oils and their by-products - Sampling and test methods" (secretariat: AFNOR, France) is responsible for the European Standard. On the national level, NA 057-05-05 AA "Gemeinschaftsausschuss für die Analytik von Fetten, Ölen, Fettprodukten, verwandten Stoffen und Rohstoffen" (GA Fett) ("Joint Committee for the analysis of fats, oil, fat products, related substances and raw materials") of the German Society for Fat Science (DGF) and NAL are responsible for the standard.

Document: references other documents

Responsible national committee

NA 057-05-05 AA - Joint committee of DIN and DGF for the analysis of fats, oils and products thereof, related and primary products  

Responsible european committee

CEN/TC 307 - Oilseeds, vegetable and animal fats and oils and their by-products - Methods of sampling and analysis  

Responsible international committee

ISO/TC 34/SC 11 - Animal and vegetable fats and oils