Perspectives on the use of seed oils in the South African diet

Abstract

The debate and the evidence in the literature on the importance of the type of fat in the diet continues to elicit interest, and hopefully better understanding. Opperman et al¹ addressed the suggestion made in The Real Meal Revolution² that seed oils are toxic, high in trans fat and genetically modified in this issue of the SAJCN. The authors concluded in their findings that South African seed oils, i.e. sunflower oil, olive oil and canola oil are of good quality and safe for human consumption, based on their fatty acid composition, i.e. trans-fatty acid content, peroxide and conjugated diene levels. They further concluded that oil crops are not genetically modified.¹