Trans Fatty Acids, Biochemical and Microbiological Quality of Selected Tunisian Hams

Forty forts samples of hams were selected from hyper market and categorized as Turkey ham, spiced turkey ham, Turkey ham for children, smoked turkey ham, turkey ham enriched with n-3 fatty acids, and chicken ham). Vegetables oils for ham preparation were also studied. Total fat ranged from 1.33 0.31 to 12.63 0.84 g/100g of fresh product and the maximum was found in turkey ham. Saturated and n-3 fatty acids showed a significant variation (p<0.05) from 27.2 to 44.9 % and from 0.52 to 11.9 % respectively. About 90% of the analysed ham product contained less than 1% trans fatty acids and 10% more than 2.5%. Ash levels reveal high sodium content in Tunisian ham. All commercialized hams samples are free of pathogenic bacteria and of E. coli. Due to our data, the importance of introduce effective policies for reducing the intake of saturated fat, trans FA and salt is required.