Current Issues in Determining Fat Content in Food Products and Food Raw Materials (Review)

Abstract

The article raises the problem of incomparability of measurement results obtained by different methods of measuring fat content in food products and food raw materials. The problem identified by the author can be solved by developing metrological support for measurements in the food industry. The purpose of the study is to analyze methods for measuring fat content in food products and food raw materials, as well as to revise the state of their metrological support. A brief description, applications, advantages and limitations of extraction-gravimetric, butyrometric, refractometric, chromatographic, ultrasonic, turbidimetric, NMR, and IR spectroscopic methods for measuring fat content are presented. Standardized measurement techniques regulated in national (GOST R), interstate (GOST), and international (ISO, AOAC) standards are analyzed, taking into account the method used, areas of application, and metrological characteristics. An overview of testing equipment and measuring instruments for implementing various methods for determining fat content is given. Particular attention is paid to the consideration of certified express analyzers of food products and food raw materials. A list of certified reference materials for the composition of dairy and grain-milk products, fish and meat products, oilseeds and their processed products, compound feed, egg powder and wheat crackers with a certified value of the mass fraction of fat is provided, their metrological characteristics and certification methods are listed. Based on the results of the study, the main features and problems of ensuring the uniformity of measurements of fat content in food products and food raw materials were formulated, and perspective directions for the development of metrological support were identified.