Abstract
Producers have to guarantee the extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) quality characteristics reported in the Regulation (CEE) 2568/91 throughout the product shelf-life (SL). Unfortunately, due to the development of oxidative reactions, some quality indices change during storage leading to a progressive deterioration of EVOO quality. To avoid the risk of product downgrading in the virgin oil category, the development of effective shelf-life prediction models is extremely important for the olive oil industry. In this research, the accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT) protocol was applied to evaluate the temperature dependence of selected oxidation indexes as well as to develop a shelf-life predictive model. The evolution of conventional (peroxide value, K232, K270, polyphenols, tocopherols and hexanal) and unconventional parameters (conjugated trienes and pyropheophytin a) was monitored in bottled EVOO stored in the dark at increasing temperature (25, 40, 50 and 60 °C). Accordingly, for well-packed products with reduced oxygen in headspace, the best shelf-life index allowing the ability to predict EVOO SL turned out to be K270. In addition, pyropheophytin a (%) has been shown to be more sensitive to temperature changes than the secondary oxidation indices, thus suggesting its use as a freshness indicator for storage temperatures higher than 25 °C.
Highlights
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) traditionally represents the major edible vegetable oil consumed in Mediterranean countries
Based on EU Regulation (CEE) 2568/91 as well as International Olive Oil Council (IOC) trade standard [2], the oil extracted from olives by mechanical methods must comply with a number of quality indices to be classified in the extra virgin category [3]
Limits established by IOC for quality indexes and EU regulation [2], our matrix was classified as extra virgin olive oil
Summary
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) traditionally represents the major edible vegetable oil consumed in Mediterranean countries. Today it is globally recognized and appreciated by consumers in non-producing countries. This is due to its unique sensory characteristics combined with the well-demonstrated health-promoting capacity. It is a matter of fact that the compliance with these parameters must be guaranteed throughout the product shelf-life to avoid the risk of the product downgrading in the virgin oil category This situation could be commercially dangerous for producers with possible negative impact on brand reputation.
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