Assessment of the quality of oil in snacks sold by street vendors in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, Lagos State

Abstract

Introduction: Regular eating of snack is on the increase as the diet pattern of people keeps changing due to lack of time to prepare adequate meals. Little attention has been given to evaluating the quality these snacks.

Objective: The study assessed the quality of oil in snacks sold by street vendors.

Methods: Samples were purchased from the street vendors in four different street; it was placed in an ice pack and labeled properly before taken to the laboratory for analysis. Extraction of oil was done using the AOAC Official Method 993.15 (AOAC, 2016).

Results: Saturated fatty acid levels were the highest, in the chinchin, puffpuff and buns samples,

followed by monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated acid respectively. For doughnut, saturated fatty acid levels were the highest followed by monounsaturated fatty acids then polyunsaturated fatty acids and the least present is the trans fatty acids. The trans fatty acid were present in the form of elaidic acid and linoeladic fatty acid.

Conclusion: The study showed that the snacks physio-chemical properties were mostly not in the range of the required standard and indicated that the oil used in the production of snacks in the geographical/ area is not suitable for consumption and it can cause any other health related issue like obesity and heart diseases.