EXPLORE A NUTRIENT
SFA 12:0
Discover how amounts vary across foods, on a shared basis for comparison.
Understand this nutrient ↓What is it?
Fatty-acid notation 12:0 specifies 12 carbons and 0 double bonds. Listed forms remain separate. [1] [2]
This reference form does not represent every form included in the USDA quantity.
Description, source and attribution
Reference depiction: lauric acid. Formula C12H24O2; PubChem CID 3893; charge 0. This specified form does not represent every form or molecule included in the USDA quantity. The free-acid reference does not imply that food fatty acids are unesterified.
PubChem Compound 3893, 2D Structure. NCBI / National Library of Medicine. Source · Reuse terms
Source check:
A COMMON BASIS
Foods, per 100 g
156 foods with data 50 not reported, excluded from ranking
- Dried rosemary
Spices, rosemary, dried, exactly as identified by USDA.
0.037 g - Cloves
Spices, cloves, ground, exactly as identified by USDA.
0.035 g - Lamb leg
Roasted lamb whole leg, shank and sirloin, separable lean only, choice, trimmed to 1/4 inch fat.
0.02 g - Cumin seed
Cumin seed spice.
0.018 g - Atlantic herring
Fish, herring, Atlantic, cooked, dry heat, exactly as identified by USDA.
0.015 g - Atlantic salmon
Farmed Atlantic salmon, cooked with dry heat.
0.013 g - Whole-wheat bread
Bread, whole-wheat, commercially prepared, exactly as identified by USDA.
0.012 g - Chicken breast
Roasted chicken breast, meat only, without skin; seasoning not specified.
0.01 g - Shrimp
Mixed-species shrimp, cooked with moist heat; may contain moisture-retention additives.
0.01 g - Mamey sapote
Sapote, mamey, raw, exactly as identified by USDA.
0.008 g - Beef ground 90% lean
Ground beef, 90% lean / 10% fat, cooked as a pan-broiled patty.
0.007 g - Cinnamon
Spices, cinnamon, ground, exactly as identified by USDA.
0.006 g
All results are sorted before pagination. Bars compare amounts within this search; they do not indicate health benefits. Not reported does not mean zero.
UNDERSTAND THE DATA
What it means for your diet
This source explains dietary fats and the distinction between saturated, unsaturated and trans fats. A family-level explanation does not establish the effects, an intake target or a supplement dose for every individual fatty-acid isomer. The original source contains a historical reference to the 2018 US partially hydrogenated oil rules; this is not a current regulatory update.
Ranking amounts describe foods, not supplement doses. A high rank does not mean you should consume more. Source recommendations and cautions retain their original population and scope.
Dietary Fats [1]
Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Original health-topic summary, reproduced with attribution.
Fat is a type of nutrient. You need some fat in your diet but not too much. Fats give you energy and help your body absorb vitamins. Dietary fat also plays a major role in your cholesterol levels.
But not all fats are the same. You should try to avoid:
- Saturated fats such as butter, solid shortening, and lard
- Trans fats. These are found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods, and other foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs). By 2018, most U.S. companies will not be allowed to add PHOs to food.
Try to replace them with oils such as canola, olive, safflower, sesame, or sunflower. Of course, eating too much fat will put on the pounds. Fat has twice as many calories as proteins or carbohydrates.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Identity and structure sources
- PubChem Compound 3893: Lauric Acid · Accessed 2026-09-13
- USDA FoodData Central: Foundation Foods Documentation · Accessed 2026-09-13