ISO 12966-2:2017 specifies methods of preparing the methyl esters of fatty acids.

It includes methods for preparing fatty acid methyl esters from animal and vegetable fats and oils, fatty acids and soaps. To cover different requirements, four methylation methods are specified, namely:

a) a "rapid" transmethylation procedure under alkaline conditions;

b) a "general" transmethylation/methylation procedure under sequential alkaline and acid conditions;

c) a BF₃ transmethylation procedure;

d) an alternative procedure using acid-catalysed transmethylation of glycerides.

Methyl esters so produced are used in various analytical procedures requiring such derivatives, e.g. gas-liquid chromatography (GLC), thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and infrared spectrometry (IR).

Milk and milk products (or fat coming from milk and milk products) are excluded from the scope of this document.