Author(s)

Ayala-Moreno María del Rosario¹, Fernández-Callejas José María Salvador¹, Maldonado-Hernández Jorge^2*

¹Food and Health Research Group, School of Chemistry, Universidad La Salle, Mexico City, Mexico.
²Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Research Unit in Medical Nutrition, Pediatric Hospital, National Medical Center “Siglo 21”, Mexican Institute of Social Security, Mexico City, Mexico.

Objective: To assess the lipid quality focusing on trans fatty acids (TFA) content of standardized milk formulas marketed in Mexico for infants aged from 0 to 36 months. Material and Methods: A total of 27 infant formulas from eight different leading brands were analyzed. Nine of them belonged to stage 1 (age < 6 months), nine to stage 2 (age 6 to 12 months) and eight to stage 3 (age > 12 months). Acquired products were treated by duplicate for extraction of total lipid content with the modified Folch method before their expiration date. Fatty acids were esterified in an alkaline medium followed by an acid-catalyzed esterification. Analysis was performed on a gas chromatograph (5890 Series II; Hewlett-Packard, USA) with a flame ionization detector. Results: Thirty-four fatty acids (C8 to C22) were identified. Most products complied with ESPHAGAN compositional requirements. Only one product exceeded the suggested limit (>3%) for TFA. Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) content was consistently meager (≈78%), with low amounts of arachidonic (<0.35%) and docosahexaenoic acids (<0.2%).Conclusion: Most milk formulas complied with ESPHAGAN global recommendations. The content of TFA and LC-PUFAs was scarce in the majority of samples.

Infant Formulas, Milk, Lipid Quality, TransFatty Acids

Rosario, A. , Salvador, F. and Jorge, M. (2016) Assessment of Lipid Quality and Composition of Commercial Infant Milk Formulas in Mexico: Emphasis on Trans Fatty Acid Isomers. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 7, 273-283. doi: 10.4236/fns.2016.74029.