A study of the minor components of fats and oils - analytical approaches to elucidate changes due to processing and agriculture

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The overall objective of my NSERC research program is to elucidate changes in the profiles of the minor components of selected oils and fats that occur as a result of agricultural practices, oil extraction and refining, food processing or environmental processes. There is a trend to alter natural lipid profiles in order to modify functionality and hence find new applications for abundant sources of oils and fats. This occurs in crops and livestock as a result of breeding and agricultural practices used to impart desirable traits. Subsequent processing may either deliberately alter lipid profiles (e.g. by hydrogenation) or do so as a by-product of oil extraction and refining. Pre- and post-harvest processes that alter overall lipid profiles inevitably affect minor lipid components, which may be biologically or functionally significant. Since food lipids form the basis of valuable global industries, much has been learned about the bulk composition of these commodities. In contrast, present knowledge of the trace components of lipids does not always match the achievable limits of modern analytical chemistry.