Panoramica sulla qualità degli oli vergini di oliva prodotti in Romagna - Survey on the quality of virgin olive oils produced in Romagna

SURVEY ON THE QUALITY OF VIRGIN OLIVE OILS PRODUCED IN ROMAGNA ALTHOUGH EMILIA-ROMAGNA REGION IS ONLY FIFTEENTH, REGARD TO THE PRODUCTION OF OLIVE OIL IN ITALY, IN THE LAST YEARS ITS TREND IS TURNING TOWARDS THE PRODUCTION OF OILS WITH HIGH QUALITY. THE RECENT ACQUISITION OF DESIGNATION OF PROTECTED ORIGIN (PDO) “COLLINE DI ROMAGNA” (EC REG. N. 1491/03) THAT FOLLOWS THE MORE HISTORICAL PDO “BRISIGHELLA” (EC REG. 1263/96), VALIDATES THIS TENDENCY. THE SPREADING OF THE CARE FOR HEALTHY AND NATURAL FOOD MIGHT BE AN EXPLANATION FOR THIS INCREASING ATTENTION OF CONSUMERS. THEREFORE, IT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT TO IMPROVE THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF THE CONSUMPTION OF VIRGIN OLIVE OILS FOR HUMAN HEALTH, DUE TO BOTH BALANCED RATIO AMONG FATTY ACIDS AND THE PRECIOUS AMOUNT OF ANTIOXIDANTS, VITAMINS AND SENSORIAL ATTRIBUTES. THE PRODUCTIVE AREA IS CONCENTRATED IN ROMAGNA, AMONG RAVENNA, FORLÌ-CESENA AND RIMINI PROVINCES: IN PARTICULAR, THE LAST ONE, HAS HIGHER DISTRIBUTION OF OLIVE MILLS IF COMPARED TO THE OTHERS. THE AIM OF THIS EXPERIMENTATION IS TO REALIZE A PICTURE OF THE REAL SITUATION REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MEAN PRODUCTION OF ROMAGNA. THE CHEMICAL AND ORGANOLEPTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A LARGE GROUP OF SAMPLES HAVE BEEN STUDIED. IN PARTICULAR, SPME/GC AND HPLC-DAD/MSD HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT RESPECTIVELY FOR THE STUDY OF VOLATILE AND PHENOLIC PROFILES, AND A STUDY OF CORRELATION OF THESE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION WITH THE MAIN SENSORY NOTES PERCEIVED BY A PANEL OF ASSESSORS, HAS BEEN REALIZED.