Trans fatty acids is a common term for unsaturated fatty acids with two hydrogen atoms situated at different sides of a double bond. Trans double bond(s) may occur in both mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and in both cases the structure around the affected double bond is changed to a structure closer to that of a saturated bond, see figure below. TFA have melting points that are intermediate between cis-unsaturated fatty acids and saturated fatty acids.

The three main origins for Trans Fatty Acids (TFA) are bacterial transformation of unsaturated fatty acids in the rumen of ruminant animals, industrial hydrogenation and deodorisation and during heating and frying of oils at high temperature.

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