Comparison of methylene chloride and chloroform for the extraction of fats from food products

Ten food products with a wide range of total fat, fatty acid and sterol content were obtained from a supermarket in the Washington, DC area. These food products were extraced by a new method, using methylene chloride/methanol as the extraction solvent. The results were compared to the Folch et al. procedure, in which chloroform/methanol is the extraction solvent. Total fat was determined, and fatty acid methyl esters and sterol butyrates were prepared and measured by gas liquid chromatography. An analysis of variance indicated that methylene chloride is as effective as chloroform, a suspected carcinogen, in the Folch et al. extraction of total fat, fatty acids and sterols from foods.