Glossary of Terms

Antioxidants - Compounds that can inhibit the development of oxidation that leads to rancidity in finished products.

Cholesterol - A waxy substance synthesized from a two carbon fatty acid.

Fatty acids - A group of chemical compounds characterized by a chain made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms and having a carboxylic acid (COOH) group on one end of the molecule. They differ from each other in the number of carbon atoms and the number and location of double bonds in the chain. When they exist unattached to the other compounds, they are called free fatty acids.

Hydrogenation - The chemical process of adding hydrogen atoms to the double bonds between carbon atoms in a fatty acid. The result is the conversion of a double bond (unsaturated) to a single bond (saturated).

Monounsaturated - A fatty acid that has one double bond (C=C) in the carbon chain. Oleic acid is an example.

Oxidation - A chemical reaction in which the double bond on a lipid molecule reacts with oxygen to produce a variety of chemical products. The consequences of this reaction are loss of nutritional value and formation of the off-colors associated with rancidity.

PBSY - Prime Bleachable Summer Yellow

Polyunsaturated - A fatty acid that has more than one double bond (C=C) in the carbon chain. Linoleic acid is an example.

RBD - Refined, Bleached, Deodorized

RBWD - Refined, Bleached, Winterized, Deodorized

Saturated - A carbon chain in which the carbons are connected to each other by single bonds, drawn as C-C. It has no carbon-to-carbon double bonds.

Tocopherol - A class of fat soluble compounds that have vitamin E activity and function as antioxidants.

Trans fatty acids - The majority of the trans fatty acids in the diet are those produced during hydrogenation. When oils are partially hydrogenated from polyunsaturated to monounsaturated, trans fatty acids result. Saturated fat is a much more stable molecule than an unsaturated one; therefore, hydrogenation increases the stability of a fat.

Triglyceride - Three fatty acids attached to a glycerol molecule. If the three fatty acids are the same, it is a simple triglyceride; if they are different from each other, it is a mixed triglyceride. Mixed triglycerides are the most common chemical components in fats and oils.