The influence of low oxygen concentrations on lipid oxidation during storage of cream powder was studied. The powder was packed with oxygen concentrations of 209 mL/L, 17 mL/L, 8.3 mL/L, 3.4 mL/L, 1.5 mL/L, 0.7 mL/L and 0.6 mL/L and stored in darkness at 30°C for 29 weeks. To follow oxidation, the formation of volatile oxidation products and oxygen consumption were measured. After 7 weeks of storage a significant (P <0.01) hexanal development was already seen in all the samples, and the hexanal content was directly related to the initial oxygen content, with one exception, the 0.6 mL/L sample, which had a slightly (but not significantly, P >0.05) higher hexanal content than the 0.7 mL/L sample. There were only small differences in hexanal formation between the samples packed with oxygen concentrations below 3.4 mL/L. This could be due to a more pronounced influence of oxygen diffusion at these low levels of oxygen, leading to a diffusion-controlled oxidation. Other volatiles, not produced by lipid oxidation, also increased during storage. The formation of Strecker aldehydes was found to be oxygen-dependent, whereas the formation of 2-alkanones was not. Measurement of oxygen consumption was not sufficient to detect differences in oxidation rate between the samples packed with 17 mL/L oxygen and less. © 1997 Academic Press Limited.