Degradation of Vitamin A Palmitate in Corn Flakes During Storage

The amounts of vitamin A palmitate lost and isomers formed in corn flakes fortified with a vitamin A palmitate were determined during storage at ambient (avg. 23 °C) and elevated (45 °C) temperatures. Two vitamin A palmitate isomers, 9‐cis and 13‐cis, were found. The initial vitamin A palmitate consisted of 5% of 13‐cis and less than 1% of 9‐cis with the remaining being all‐trans. In corn flakes fortified with either a complete vitamin mixture or vitamin A palmitate only, the distribution of these compounds was nearly constant throughout storage irrespective of sample type and storage conditions. The rate constant and reaction kinetics on the degradation of vitamin A palmitate were also obtained. After 6–8 wk storage, more than 90% of vitamin A palmitate was lost in all samples except corn flakes fortified with complete vitamin mixture and kept at ambient temperature. This study showed that the loss of vitamin A palmitate fortified in corn flakes was substantial even at ambient temperature. The presence of other vitamins including vitamin A, B 1 , B 6 , B 12 , C, and D reduced the loss of vitamin Abut the loss was still significant.