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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Bio-oils Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #335402
Research Project: Industrial Monomers and Polymers from Plant Oils

Location: Bio-oils Research

Title: Glycidyl fatty acid esters in refined edible oils: A review on formation, occurrence, analysis, and elimination methods

Author
item CHENG, WEI-WEI - South China University Of Technology
item LIU, GUO-QIN - South China University Of Technology
item WANG, LI-QING - Guangdong Testing Institute Of Product Quality Supervision
item Liu, Zengshe - Kevin

Submitted to: Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2016
Publication Date: 1/30/2017
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/5852165
Citation: Cheng, W.W., Liu, G.Q., Wang, L.Q., Liu, Z. 2017. Glycidyl fatty acid esters in refined edible oils: A review on formation, occurrence, analysis, and elimination methods. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. 16:263-281.

Interpretive Summary: This research summarizes how to prevent the formation of glycidyl fatty acid esters (GEs) during oil processing. GEs are potential carcinogens which may induce tumors. This research provides the methods for eliminating GEs in refined edible oils and improves food safety.

Technical Abstract: Glycidyl fatty acid esters (GEs), one of the main contaminants in processed oil, are mainly formed during the deodorization step in the oil refining process of edible oils and therefore occur in almost all refined edible oils. GEs are potential carcinogens, due to the fact that they hydrolyze into the free form glycidol in the gastrointestinal tract, which has been found to induce tumors in various rat tissues. Furthermore, glycidol has already been identified as a “possible human carcinogen" (group 2A) by the Intl. Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Therefore, significant effort has been devoted to inhibit and eliminate the formation of GEs. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary on the following topics: (i) GE occurrence data for different edible oils and oil-based food products, (ii) precursors of GEs, (iii) factors influencing the formation of GEs, (iv) potential reaction mechanisms involving the leaving group and reaction intermediates, and (v) analytical methods, including the indirect and direct methods. More importantly, the various elimination methods for GEs in refined edible oils are being reviewed with focus on 3 aspects: (i) inhibition and removal of reactants, (ii) modification of reactive conditions, and (iii) elimination of GE products.