Standard Review of the application of molecular spectroscopic and chromatographic-based methods for determination of trans fatty acids in food products

• Reliable techniques to detect and quantify trans-fatty acids are critically assessed. • Chromatographic methods are highly favored for trans-fatty acids determination due to their ability to specifically and sensitively separate TFAs from other components. • Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR) is highlighted for its straightforward and dependable trans-fatty acids analysis by pinpointing specific TFA peaks. Fats and oils are taken into account as good sources of nutrients with high caloric value. However, the processing of fats and oil-based foods with heat treatment is capable of converting unsaturated fatty acids (USFAs) into trans-fatty acids (TFAs). Some issues were raised by health professionals related to TFA since numerous epidemiological and case-control studies reported that there is a relation between the level of TFA intake and the risk of coronary heart disease; therefore, the availability of reliable analytical techniques capable of detecting and quantifying TFAs, especially in food matrices, is very urgent. Chromatographic-based methods are considered the method of choice for determination of TFAs since these methods can provide the separation of TFAs from other components to get specific and sensitive tools. Furthermore, spectroscopic-based methods, particularly Fourier transform spectroscopy, provide straightforward and dependable methods for identifying and quantitatively analyzing TFAs, as Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy can pinpoint specific peaks within TFAs.