oa Lipid biomarkers in the identification of halal/haram products

Plant oils, marine and animal fats are major components of the human diet and they are economically important for many exporting countries. Triacylglycerols (TAG) are the major fat components in human diet. Food consumed by Muslims must be HALAL. Food products with a HALAL designation do not only relate to meat, but also include canned, processed and frozen foods, organic foods, bakery products, pastry and beverages, because of the potential use of animal derived (including porcine) products. Two main objectives of this study are; to differentiate lipid profiles in lard, marine and plant oils and to detect lard contamination in food and commercial cooking oils. This method achieved comprehensive TAGs characterization and differentiation in several oil standards and commercial products. These results were obtained from a single analysis on the Dual-cell Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer using protocols which employs full scan MS, wide band activation with MS2, data-dependent CID (collision induces dissociation) with MS3, all from a single injection. The fatty acid composition of each TAG is easily assigned from the loss of specific neutral fatty acids either in MS (APCI mode) or from similar losses in the CID MS/MS spectra. Therefore, this method could be used as a rapid screening method for TAG profiles. A number of unique TAGs were found in animal and plant oils and three unique TAGs were found in lard oil;these TAGs may be employed in lard detection or adulteration in foods or oil as illustrated in this study. Such an approach may be useful in the determination of halal or haram food products. Finally, preliminary work is also presented regarding the utility of phospholipids contained in plant, marine, and animal fats as additional unique markers for the presence of specific individual oils; especially those from porcine products.