Chapter 8 - Influence of the Crushing System: Phenol Content in Virgin Olive Oil Produced from Whole and De-stoned Pastes

Abstract

The mechanical processes used to extract virgin olive oil from olive fruit include the crushing of the olives, malaxation of resulting pastes and separation of the oily phase essentially by pressure or centrifugation. All these operations affect the quality of virgin olive oil. Olive paste preparation is the most important phase of the process when oil is mechanically extracted from the olives. The use of differing machines in olive oil production has inevitable repercussions on the cost-effectiveness of the oil-making process, on the amounts of oil extracted and especially on the quality of the oil obtained. In order to obtain the best virgin olive oil, quality olives must be processed as quickly as possible after harvesting from the trees. Normally they should be delivered to the mill within a day or so of picking, in order to keep down oxidation and acidity. When extracting oil from olives, it is very important to clean them properly first, in order to ensure the levels of hygiene required for a high-quality olive oil product. Once cleaned, the olives must be crushed, in order to make the olive paste that itself is the first stage in extracting the oil. How this is done is crucial for both the quantity and the quality of the olive oil product. Mechanical oil extraction from de-stoned pastes can improve the oil phenolic concentration. The quality characteristics of virgin olive oil also depend on oxidative enzyme reactions that take place in olive paste during the extraction process. Two enzymes, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD), are highly concentrated in the olive kernel. PPO and POD can oxidize phenolic compounds resulting in a reduced phenolic concentration of oil. The de-stoning process, excluding the olive seed before malaxation, partially removes the peroxidase activity in the pastes. This results in an increase in oxidative stability and nutritional value of virgin olive oil.