Shelf Life of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Its Prediction Models

Abstract

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), with high unsaturation degree (oleic acid, linoleic acid, and linolenic acid), is prone to oxidation during production and storage even with the presence of abundant antioxidants (e.g., phenolic compounds, alpha-tocopherol, and chlorophyll). The level of oxidation degradation is greatly affected by the EVOO chemical composition (free fatty acids, saturated and unsaturated fat ratio, total phenol content, etc.) and storage conditions (packaging material, oxygen, temperature, and light). With the increasing demand on qualitative acceptability and food safety of an EVOO product, consumers rely heavily on “shelf life” as a good indicator. Hence, it is critical for olive oil producers to provide accurate and practical information on shelf-life prediction. This review analyzes ten shelf-life prediction models that used various parameters and approaches for model establishment. Due to the complexity of chemical interactions between oil phase and environment under real-time storage and rapid accelerated testing conditions, further investigation is needed to scrutinize and minimize the discrepancies between real-time shelf life and predicted shelf life of EVOO products.