Evolution of the oxidative and hydrolytic degradation of biscuits' fatty fraction during storage

BACKGROUND: There is little information in the scientific literature on the degradation of the fatty fraction of biscuits during storage. Thus two trials were performed utilizing two different kinds of margarine for a better evaluation of the phenomenon. RESULTS: Covariance analysis of the data evidenced a significant increase of the oxidized triacylglycerols (P < 0.001), together with a significant decrease (P < 0.001) in the amount of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. On the other hand, the level of hydrolytic degradation did not show significant variation. CONCLUSION: Principal components analysis ascertained that about 60% of the variance of the data could be attributed to the quality of the margarine, while about 30% was ascribable to the increase of oxidative degradation induced by storage.