Use of antioxidants in the stabilization of fats and fatty foods.

Antioxidants are being used extensively to
prevent rancidity in fats and fatty foods. Precise
data on the amount of food rejected owing to the
development of rancidity are not available, but
it is known that the use of antioxidants has
materially helped to reduce this loss. The
development of rancidity in foods besides
lowering their palatability results in a decrease in
their nutritive value, through destruction of
important nutrients like vitamins and essential
fatty acids. Rancidity is not confined to foods
of high fat content but it may occur even in
cereals and other foods of relatively low fat
content and under conditions like refrigeration,
dehydration and salting which prevent microbial
spoilage. The use of antioxidants has been on
the increase during recent years. Bose and
Subrahmanyan1 reviewed the general uses of
antioxidants in science and industry. The
present review deals with the more recent developments
in the use of antioxidants in the stabilization
of fats and fatty foods.