Olio&Olive, Extra Virgin Olive Oil As You Never Tasted Before!

>> Grading and Tasting Olive Oil
>> Choosing the Right Product
>> Properties and Benefits
>> From Olives To Olive O il
>> Factors that A ffect the Quality
>> Us ing and Storing Olive Oil
>> FDA N ews: Olive Oil and CHD

Factors that Affect the Quality

Producing high quality Extra Virgin olive oil requires the producer to reach perfection in
every stage of the process, as well as be fortunate with Mother Nature. This is often much
more expensive for producers to accomplish which is why some excellent extra virgin olive
oils can be so pricey.

At present over 50% of the olive oil produced in the Mediterranean countries has high
acidity and poor organoleptic characteristics, and is unsuitable for human consumption
unless refined. Extra virgin oil accounts for barely 10% of the oil produced in many of
these countries.

The following factors play a role in the quality of olive oil produced:

Health of fruit (degree of pest and disease infestation)
Method and period of post-harvest fruit storage
Oil extraction system ( including extraction temperatures)
Method and period of oil storage prior to packing
Cultivar of olive (type)
Climate (latitude of production area)
Cultural techniques (irrigation, drainage, pesticide residues, etc.)
Soil type
Harvesting method
Maturity of fruit (time of harvesting)
Method of fruit transport
Type of packaging
Period of storage in final pack prior to use

Any weak link in the chain from the fruit on the tree to the oil in the final retail pack will
impact upon the quality of the oil.

The above factors affect both the quality and keeping quality of olive oils by altering one
or more of the following chemical components or indices of the oil:

Free fatty acidity (the degree of chemical breakdown of the triacylglycerols)
Peroxide value (the degree of peroxidation of the oil)
Antioxidant content (the content of polyphenols and tocopherols)
Spectrophotometric constants (mainly UV extinction coefficient at 270nm)
Fatty acid profile of triacylglycerols (content of oleic, palmitic, linoleic, etc.)
Pigment content (chlorophylls and carotenoids)
Aroma compounds (alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, phenols, terpenes)
Mono- and diacylglycerol content (partially formed triacylglycerols)
Sterol content (beta-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, etc.)

WARNING:

Unscrupulous producers can sell oil as "extra virgin" as long as
they meets acidity standards and satisfies chemical analysis
standards without informing consumers that some of the oil is
chemically rectified or that it has been blended. Frauds include
blending olive oil with nut or seed oils, as well as blending
rectified oil with extra virgin olive oil.

Obviously, such oil will not have the health benefits of a true
extra virgin olive oil!

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