Food Industry FAMEs on Rt-2560 by AOCS Method Ce-1j-07 Using H2 (Optimized Method)

Importance of FAME Analysis in Food Industry

Accurate fatty acid profiling by gas chromatography is essential for food quality assessment, nutritional labeling and authenticity testing. The AOCS Ce-1j-07 method adapted to a Rt-2560 column with hydrogen carrier offers enhanced resolution and faster analysis times.

Study Objectives and Overview

The aim was to optimize the official FAME method for food industry standards using hydrogen instead of helium to reduce cost and improve peak separation. A reference mix of 36 FAMEs was analyzed to validate performance.

Methodology

Sample preparation involved dilution of a commercial food industry FAME mix to a total concentration of 10000 µg/mL in hexane. A 1 µL split injection (20:1) was performed.

• Column: Rt-2560, 100 m × 0.25 mm ID, 0.20 µm film thickness
• Oven program: 180 °C hold 19.8 min, ramp to 215 °C at 32.3 °C/min, hold 11 min
• Carrier gas: H₂ at 2.5 mL/min constant flow
• Detector: FID at 250 °C with hydrogen make-up (52 mL/min), H₂ (40 mL/min), air (400 mL/min)

Instrumentation Used

Analysis was performed on an Agilent 7890A GC equipped with a flame ionization detector. A Topaz 4.0 mm ID precision inlet liner with wool ensured reproducible injections.

Results and Discussion

The optimized method resolved 36 FAMEs within 33 min. All major saturated and unsaturated esters were baseline separated. The critical cis-11-C20:1 and cis-9,12,15-C18:3 pair achieved a resolution of 2.03. Retention times ranged from 4.7 to 33.1 min with consistent peak shapes.

Applications and Benefits

This optimized protocol offers high throughput, lower operating costs by using hydrogen, and robust separation for quality control in food laboratories. It supports regulatory compliance, nutritional studies, and authenticity verification.

Future Trends and Potential Applications

Emerging developments may include online sample preparation, ultra-fast GC, and coupling with mass spectrometry for structural confirmation. Adoption of green carrier gases and automated data processing will further enhance efficiency and sustainability.

Conclusion

The hydrogen-based AOCS Ce-1j-07 method on a Rt-2560 column delivers fast, cost-effective and reliable fatty acid profiling for the food industry, maintaining high resolution and reproducibility.

Reference

1. AOCS Official Method Ce-1j-07. American Oil Chemists’ Society, 2017.
2. Restek Corporation. Food Industry FAME Analysis on Rt-2560, 2019.
3. EZGC Method Translator. Restek Blog, 2020.