Triacylglycerol (TAG) composition by carbon number in 2 protected designation of origin cheeses, Mahón (cheese from cow milk) and Manchego (cheese from ewe milk) that were manufactured by 3 different producers was analyzed during cheese ripening using gas chromatography with a short capillary column. The TAG composition at different times during cheese ripening was also analyzed in cheeses from different batches produced at the same plant. Lipolysis levels in the Mahón and Manchego cheeses during ripening were low; free fatty acid values ranged from 2,500 to 4,000 ppm at the end of ripening. The TAG composition did not change significantly during ripening. The TAG values obtained from each cheese sample were substituted into the multiple regression equations that have been proposed to detect foreign fats in milk fat. The values obtained using the equations for bovine (proposed by the European Union) and ovine milk (proposed by our laboratory) were within the normal range. Accordingly, these equations can be considered useful for detecting foreign fat in these cheeses during the ripening period contemplated during this study.

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As dietary fibre constitutes only part of the non‐digestible components of plant foods, there is a general trend to extend the fibre concept to include all the main food constituents that reach the colon undegraded. In this study the major non‐digestible components of five edible brown and red Spanish marine seaweeds—Fucus vesiculosus. Laminaria digitata (Kombu), Undaria pinnatifida (Wakame), Chondrus crispus (Irish moss) and Porphyra tenera (Nori)—were determined under simulated physiological conditions by an in vitro enzymatic method (Sauro‐Calixto F et al, J Agric Food Chem 48: 3342–3347 (2000)) developed as an alternative to dietary fibre analysis. Two indigestible fractions, soluble (SIF) and insoluble (IIF), were obtained after enzymatic treatments of seaweeds. SIF amounted to 40–170 g kg−1 algal dry weight. Gravimetric values of IIF were 246–599 g kg−1 and its major components were resistant protein (37–133 g kg−1), minerals (13–78 g kg−1) and non‐starch polysaccharides plus klason lignin (196–415 g kg−1). The total indigestible fraction determined by colorimetry (335–516 g kg−1) was similar to the total dietary fibre content of seaweeds determined previously by the AOAC method. However, the distribution of the soluble and insoluble fractions differed between the two procedures. Estimation of the indigestible fraction of edible seaweeds could be useful from both nutritional and commercial points of view. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry

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