Stability of edible oils and fats to fluorescent light irradiation

Abstract Butter, butterfat, and corn, coconut, rapeseed, and soybean oils were exposed to 500 ft‐c of fluorescent light at varying time‐temperature conditions. Oxidation rates were measured by the peroxide values. Vitamin A and β‐carotene content of butterfat were estimated. The effect of wavelength on the relative rates of oxidation was determined. The light transmitting properties of the samples at 15 and 30 C over a spectral range of 380–750 nm were measured. It was observed that there was no increase in oxidation rate when the light was switched off. The stability of the oils as shown by the oxidation rates did not correlate well with the ratios of C18:2 to C18:1 or C18:3 to C18:2 nor with the degree of unsaturation. Increase in temperature alone had minimal effect; however, in the presence of light the rate of oxidation increased considerably with a corresponding decrease in the content of Vitamin A and β‐carotene. β‐Carotene provided strong protective properties. After the photobleaching of β‐carotene in butterfat, there was a rapid increase in peroxide values. With coconut oil, the oxidation rate was greater at 15 C than at 30 C due to greater light absorption at 15 C over the entire spectrum. The rate of oxidation decreased at higher wavelengths, and this effect was more pronounced in the vegetable oils than in butterfat, where the β‐carotene was considered to serve as a filter for light of low wavelength.