Metodi analitici per la determinazione di oli deodorati mild in oli extra vergini di oliva commerciali (Application of analytical methods to determine mildly deodorized olive oils in commercial extra virgin olive oils)

The deodorization of low quality virgin olive oils applying a “mild” technology, is a current fraud: the olive oils obtained from this illegal treatment, under vacuum and at low temperatures, may be mixed with extra virgin olive oils (EV). This adulterated product is characterized by a chemical composition very similar to a genuine EV. In this work, to confirm the presence of mildly deodorized olive oils in oils sold as EV, an analytical method recently proposed by some Italian and Spanish researchers was applied to several commercial samples. This not official method (but temporarily recommended by IOC) is based on the gas-chromatographic determination of methyl and ethyl esters of fatty acids (alkyl esters). Moreover, analysis of water content and volatile compounds were carried out on samples. In fact, according to previous experimental observations, both the water amount and the volatile profile changed as a consequence of mild deodorization.