Production of superior quality extra virgin olive oil modulating the content and profile of its minor components

Abstract

Superior quality extra virgin olive oil must be obtained from healthy and properly ripened olive fruits. Nevertheless, the production of a high quality food product requires not only an irreproachable raw material but also an ad hoc process control and quality assurance throughout the whole manufacturing process.The fine sensory characteristics and the remarkable nutritional and biological properties of this traditional Mediterranean fruit juice are mainly due to the presence of its minor components, chiefly volatile and phenolic compounds. It is known that the presence and amount of these minor components in virgin olive oil depend on agronomic practices and technological variables: the olive cultivar, the degree of ripening of the fruit, as well as the oil extraction process, in particular the milling and kneading parameters.Therefore, the use of proper manufacturing conditions during agronomic practices and processing clearly offers the chance to modify the final contents and profiles of phenolic and volatile components in the oil and therefore to modulate the properties and the sensory perceptions of the final product allowing the olive oil mill industry to design the desired type of virgin olive oil to be produced. It must be a shared responsibility between growers and producers, all of which must reach the proper requirements of an ad hoc process control and quality assurance procedures.The aim of this review is therefore to evaluate and discuss the effect of the production variables that can be easily modified by olive oil producers to modify the content and profile of minor compounds and as a consequence the properties and quality of the oil, with the goal to be able to design their own desired olive oil type.